Caitlin Clark made history Friday night, becoming the first player in WNBA history to record 45 points and 10 assists in a single game as the Indiana Fever defeated the Seattle Storm 110-107. Clark hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from 26 feet with 39.1 seconds remaining after the game had been tied.
Clark's 45 points set a Fever franchise record, and she became the first player in league history to reach that total in fewer than 30 minutes. With six made 3-pointers, she also became the fastest player to reach 200 career 3-point field goals, doing so in 74 games. It marked her fourth career game with at least 30 points and 10 assists, a feat matched only four other times in league history.
Clark described sensing early on that the night would be a special one.
"Some nights, like, you know you have it, even before the ball tips," said Clark. "I felt like it was going to be one of those for me. I feel like you just have to believe you're going to have those type of nights, and you have to visualize having those types of nights. And I feel like that's what I did."
Clark shot 17-for-19 from the free throw line while repeatedly attacking the basket early, which opened up perimeter looks as the game progressed. She also finished with four steals and two blocks, including a critical defensive sprint-back block on Flau'jae Johnson that set up her decisive late 3-pointer.
Fever center Makayla Timpson, starting in place of injured Aliyah Boston, praised Clark's performance.
"Just greatness right here, man," said Timpson. "She does some crazy stuff out there on the court, man."
Clark scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone after Seattle had taken an 88-82 lead through three quarters. She played through a minutes restriction tied to a back injury that had limited her to roughly 25 minutes per game over her previous two outings, but said there was no chance she would sit out the finish.
"Steph knows better than that," said Clark, referencing Fever coach Stephanie White. "Trainers know better than that. ... Didn't matter, I would play with one leg."
Teammate Kelsey Mitchell also turned in a standout performance, scoring 30 points and extending her franchise-record streak to nine consecutive games with at least 20 points, the ninth such streak in league history. Clark and Mitchell became the first teammates in WNBA history to score 40 and 30 points in the same game.
Fever coach Stephanie White reflected on the magnitude of Clark's performance.
"It's incredible," said White. "I mean, it's special. She does things that that we haven't seen. She had a lot of bounce early. You could tell she was feeling better. She was feeling good, and in the moment, sometimes it's surreal to see. I look down at the stat sheet at the end of the game, and it's like, holy [expletive], 45 and 10."
Clark said she plans to play Saturday against the New York Liberty in the second half of a back-to-back set.
"I still feel like I can play better," said Clark. "It's one of the hardest things, coming back from injury and being out of the groove and having time off. You just have to kind of continue to believe in yourself and believe in the work you put in. This is great, but we have another really difficult test tomorrow, so got to get ready for that."
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