Caitlin Clark Looks Forward to Break After Record-Setting Night
Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie, is looking forward to the WNBA's month-long break for the Paris Olympics after setting a WNBA record with 19 assists
“I feel like I haven’t stopped since last September,” Clark said before making history in the 101-93 loss to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.
Two weeks after reaching the national championship game for the second straight time with Iowa, Clark was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. About three weeks later, she made her debut in a preseason game at a packed arena at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she set the assists record in front of another large crowd.
Clark will have a short break before Indiana returns to practice to maintain its fitness. Indiana’s next game is on August 16 at home against Phoenix.
“I think it’s going to be really good for myself and my body,” Clark said. “You’ve almost gone a year of non-stop basketball. It’s going to be weird not playing, but I think this will definitely be good for my body.”
Clark scored 24 points despite making only 2 of 9 three-pointers in the loss to the Wings. She leads all rookies with an average of 17.1 points per game and leads the league with 8.2 assists. In her last 9 games, Clark has averaged 11.9 assists.
“She’s going to get some rest and I think that’s great,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “She’s been playing non-stop for a long time. I think it will help her a lot to reduce stress.”
Since Iowa’s season began on November 6 last year, Clark has played 65 official games and 2 unofficial games in Indiana’s short season. In addition, Clark has been an unwilling participant in discussions about race amid the rise of the young white star and the hard fouls on her that have drawn more attention than usual.
If Indiana makes the playoffs in September, it will mark more than a year since Clark began preparing for her final season with the Hawkeyes, which ended with a second straight loss in the NCAA championship game.
“Honestly, I feel pretty good,” Clark said. “I think the early part of the season was the hardest for me. The first adjustment was playing in this league and the second was the tough schedule.”
