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The Connecticut Sun’s suffocating defense torpedoed the long-awaited professional basketball debut of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
clark, the two-time national college player of the yearstruggled for much of her first WNBA regular season game as Clark worked for each of her 20 points in Connecticut’s convincing 92-71 victory.
“There’s a lot to learn; it’s the first one,” Clark told reporters after the game. “There will be good ones and there will be bad ones.”
in the sun first Sold out for first home game since 2003Fans at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville divided their loyalty as they cheered on both the home team and Clark in the most famous professional introduction in women’s basketball history.
The building roared as Clark hit each of his four 3-pointers, but highlights were hard to come by. Connecticut forced her into 10 turnovers, among 25 Fever giveaways, and held her to just a trio of assists.
“Obviously too many turnovers, that’s not going to get the job done,” Clark said. “There are many things to learn about.”
He added: “I would have liked to play a little better tonight.”
She committed a pair of touching fouls in the first quarter, which led to an early break on the bench. And when she was on the court, Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington and his teammates gave Clark, he 2024 No. 1 draft picklittle space to operate.
Clark didn’t score his first points until 5:24 left in the second quarter. He got a little more offensive in the second half, scoring 13 points after intermission.
But turnovers were still an issue, with five turnovers in each half.
“I thought it took me a little while to adjust to the game,” Clark said. “I thought the second half was a lot better without some turnovers.”
Fever coach Christie Sides said Clark was not to blame for the 10 turnovers.
“We have to help her. We have to do a better job getting the ball back,” Sides said.
Carrington insisted that Clark’s defensive block Tuesday was just another day at the office, regardless of the national attention that shone on Mohegan Sun Arena.
“This is what they expect from me every night, whether it’s Caitlin or whoever we’re playing,” he said. “This is the expectation. This is the standard.”
Sides said he is confident Clark will be able to adjust to the height and speed of elite defenders like Carrington.
The Sun “had a game plan against her, and it’s going to take some time for her to figure out that speed and quickness and physicality,” Sides said. “We try to repeat it and emulate it in our practices with our guys as much as we can. But it’s just not the same.”
Carrington’s strong play was marred only by leg cramps that sent her to the locker room for part of the second half.
“I have to hydrate better, so that’s on me: less coffee,” he said, laughing.
Meanwhile, Connecticut senior DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points and moved up to No. 5 on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list.
Indiana is setting your hopes at Clark as it looks to improve on the conference’s worst record of 13-27 last season.
The Fever’s home opener is scheduled for Thursday against last year’s WNBA runner-up, the New York Liberty, at 7 p.m. ET on Gainbridge Cottage in Indianapolis.
that game will be streaming on Amazon Prime and broadcast locally on the NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis and WWOR in and around New York City.
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