The stats from Caitlin Clark’s first 30-point game: Fever rookie creates history by losing again.
With 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists, Clark is the first rookie to do so since Sabrina Ionescu
Tuesday’s 88-82 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks extended the Indiana Fever’s unsatisfactory start to the season. Now that they are 1–7, they are in 11th place and are off to their worst start since 2021. However, there was one positive aspect of the outcome: Caitlin Clark gave a historically impressive performance.
The first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark, finished with a career-high 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and three blocks while shooting 7 of 16 from the field and 13 of 15 from the foul line. Even if she struggled in the turnover department once more with seven, Clark’s outing was a noteworthy achievement.
Here are the stats from her amazing night:
Clark got a feed from Kristy Wallace and broke loose off a screen to bury a 3-pointer one minute into the contest. At that point, Clark’s young professional career’s finest scoring effort started. She didn’t shoot the ball very well, but it was a lot better than it had been in the previous games. She made three additional three-pointers and had a difficult finish over several defenders, in addition to a few uncontested layups. Rhyne Howard in 2022, was the last rookie to score thirty points in a game before Clark.
It’s more entertaining to discuss Clark’s long-range shooting, but getting to the line repeatedly was a major factor in her Division I scoring record at Iowa. With 221 made free throws last season, she finished second in the nation. Over her previous three seasons, she averaged almost seven free throws per game.
Because she’s a rookie, her team is struggling, and her opponents aren’t always outmatched, it’s more difficult to get those easy scores in the WNBA. But against the Sparks, Clark managed to wriggle her way into the line fifteen times, scoring thirteen of those free throws.
Clark is the first rookie to accomplish so since Howard in 2022 and only the second player, along with Kahleah Copper, to shoot at least 15 free throws in a game this season. She is just one of five rookies in the past ten years to do this.
On Tuesday, Clark dabbled in a little bit of everything and joined a few select clubs.Along with Jewell Loyd and A’ja Wilson, she is one of the few players this season to have at least thirty points, five rebounds, and five assists in a game. She became the eighth rookie in history and the first since Sabrina Ionescu in 2020 to record a 30/5/5 performance.
Along with Breanna Stewart, Angel McCoughtry, and Diana Taurasi, she is the only rookie in WNBA history to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in a single game.
2001
In the twenty-four years since the Indiana Fever made their WNBA debut in 2000, a number of gifted rookies have come through the doors. However, Clark joins Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings as the only other player to get thirty points.
With a rookie of the year award, All-Star Game selection, MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting finishes, and recognition as a member of the All-WNBA First Team, Catchings had one of her best-ever rookie performances. Her performance on August 7, 2002, which included 32 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals,, and 2 blocks, was just a taste of her impact.
Although Clark’s impact on the Fever and the league is still far from matching Catchings’, her first two weeks have been excellent.