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Caitlin Clark plays in WNBA preseason debut after being

drafted No. 1 by Indiana Fever
Homero De la Fuente and Ben Morse, CNN
55
Sat, May 4, 2024, 8:54 AM GMT+3 · 6 min read

The excitement to watch Caitlin Clark play in the WNBA has been palpable.
And tonight, that moment finally came.

The 22-year-old, who was selected earlier this month as the No. 1 overall pick
in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, scored a game-high 21 points in
the team’s preseason game Friday against the Dallas Wings. The Fever went on
to lose 79-76 in Arlington, Texas.
Learn more

Clark, who had a historic NCAA season with the Iowa Hawkeyes, is at the
forefront of a new wave of interest in women’s basketball and her arrival in the
WNBA is a moment fans have been anticipating for some time now.

Clark dazzles in WNBA debut

Clark got off to a quick start in the sold-out game in College Park Center,
drilling her first three-point attempt deep for her first bucket as a professional.
The NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer wasn’t finished there, scoring a
28-foot three pointer shortly after as part of her three first-quarters buckets
from deep.

Clark led all scorers at the end of the first half with 16 points, going 5 of 9 from
the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, along with two rebounds and an
assist.

However, she struggled in the second half, dealing with foul trouble that kept
her off the floor for a good portion of the third quarter. After returning with
under six minutes left in the fourth, she failed to get back into rhythm, making
one of her six attempts from the field, and finishing with a game-high five
turnovers. €11,999

“I thought we played really hard,” Clark said after the game. “Just a great
atmosphere for women’s basketball. I think it’s a good kickoff to the WNBA
season. I think the way we play, you know there’s some things we could’ve
executed a little better. I think we could’ve got into our offense a little bit better,
the pace was amazing, that’s fun basketball people like to watch but overall,
definitely what I expected.”

Although it was a closely fought contest, it was the Dallas Wings that escaped
with the victory. With the game tied 76-76, Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale €20,449
knocked down a step-back three-pointer to give Dallas the lead with three Alege oriunde în Europa
Carvago
seconds left in the game.

Ogunbowale finished with 19 points, including nine points in the fourth quarter,
to lift the Wings to the preseason victory. Meanwhile, undrafted rookie Jaelyn
Brown led the Wings with 21 points and five rebounds in her preseason debut.

Clark had a chance to tie the game on a contested three but missed the three-
point attempt from the corner at the buzzer.

“I think just the little things. Knowing when to push in transition, knowing when
to slow up and run our offense a little bit better,” Clark added. “Overall our
defense was pretty good, I thought we could’ve gotten better in some areas. I
thought we could’ve passed the ball a little bit better but overall, you know a lot
to learn from. These are good learning experiences for us, you know this
doesn’t count. Go back and watch some film – film doesn’t lie – and learn from
that.”

Hottest ticket in town

Ever since Clark’s name was officially thrown in for the WNBA draft, excitement
around her move to the league has been growing.

Clark developed into an almost unstoppable scorer with Iowa, setting countless
scoring records for both the men’s and women’s game during her time in
college.

Such has been the eagerness to see her in the WNBA, ticket prices to watch
the Fever more than doubled even before the draft and TickPick told CNN
back in March that 83% of total tickets sold for the Fever’s upcoming season
came after her announcement declaring for the draft. Indiana was widely
predicted to take Clark with the first overall pick

After the almost inevitable No. 1 selection, that excitement has continued to
blossom.

Her No. 22 Fever jerseys sold out within hours of going on sale, breaking the
record for draft pick sales on draft night for any player in any sport, a Fanatics
spokesperson told CNN; that record was subsequently days later broken by
Caleb Williams after he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL
Draft.

Clark merchanise sold out quickly after being drafted by the Fever. - Michael Conroy/AP

The Dallas Wings announced earlier in April that tickets for the two teams’
preseason game have sold out with fans flocking to College Park Center to
catch a glimpse of the former Hawkeye.

Clark has already been seen on court with her Fever teammates, with training
camp kicking off recently around the league.

Social media clips from the Fever show Clark pulling out her trademark step-
back three-pointers to the delight of her teammates , as well as winning the
team’s first half-court challenge of the season.

Although she comes in with plenty of hype around her, the star rookie says she
has been adjusting to a different pace of play in her early experiences of the
pro game.

“It’s definitely different, but that’s what you expect when you start a new
chapter of your life,” Clark told reporters . “It’s fast, a fast shot clock, but it fits
my game well.

“It’s a fast pace, a lot faster than college, and you’ve got to learn quicker
because you’ve got to get your mind on Friday.”

She laced up alongside All-Star center Aliyah Boston, the reigning WNBA
Rookie of the Year and the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Alege oriunde în Europa
Carvago

The pair could form a scary proposition for opposing defenders as they look to
improve on a 13–27 record from last season, with the team finishing 10th in the
WNBA standings – last in the Eastern Conference – and missing the playoffs.

Clark (center) and Boston (right) could be a tough tandem for opposing defenses to stop next season and a
fruitful long-term partnership for the Fever. - Michael Conroy/AP

Boston – who averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds last season – said she
hopes to improve on a promising debut WNBA campaign.

“To be able to come in my second year and be able to hold off (defenders) a

little bit longer, be able to finish through contact a little bit better than I did my
rookie season, that’s a lot better,” Boston said.

Friday’s preseason game against the Wings marked the first of two for the
Fever, with the second coming against the Atlanta Dream in Indianapolis on
May 10.

Indiana tips off its regular season against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 at the
Mohegan Sun Arena.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified one of the teams – the
Dallas Wings – that played this game.

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