Clark collects 2nd triple-double as Fever keep scorching

Indiana Fever followers roared when Caitlin Clark grabbed a rebound with 10.2 seconds left in Wednesday’s contest. It supplied a good higher ending to the workforce’s fifth victory in a row: Clark bought her second triple-double of the WNBA season.

Within the closing seconds of the 93-86 win over the Los Angeles Sparks, she snared her tenth rebound to associate with 10 assists and 24 factors. Clark notched the primary triple-double ever by a WNBA rookie (19 factors, 13 assists, 12 rebounds) on July 6 in a victory over the New York Liberty. She is the fifth WNBA participant to have a number of triple-doubles in a season.

Clark had 17 triple-doubles in her Iowa school profession, and the Hawkeyes gained all these video games.

Additionally on Wednesday, Clark made 4 3-pointers, placing her at 102 treys for the season. She is the quickest to achieve 100 3s in WNBA historical past, doing so in her thirty fourth sport.

Earlier within the day, Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Month and Japanese Convention Participant of the Month for August.

She smiled Wednesday on the court docket when she bought the final rebound, acknowledging afterward she knew concerning the triple-double due to the scoreboard. Her teammates and the group of 16,645 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse knew straight away too.

“Each sport she will get slightly higher,” stated Indiana’s Christie Sides, who was named WNBA Coach of the Month on Wednesday. “Each sport she will get slightly bit [more] understanding of the velocity and the quickness. I like the conversations along with her concerning the sport. She’s enjoying rather well … she had some wonderful assists tonight.”

The Fever earned their first playoff berth since 2016 on Tuesday, because of losses by the Atlanta Dream and the Chicago Sky. So, Indiana began a six-game homestand Wednesday with numerous vitality within the area. The last-place Sparks battled all through, however the Fever prevailed.

Like Clark, Aliyah Boston completed with 24 factors for Indiana, including 14 rebounds and 4 assists. It was Boston’s twelfth double-double this season. Kelsey Mitchell added 18 factors and NaLyssa Smith put up 13 for the Fever, who at the moment are 18-16.

That is the primary time the Fever have gained at the very least 5 video games in a row since a six-game successful streak in the course of the 2015 season, after they went to the WNBA Finals earlier than falling to the Minnesota Lynx. Indiana is now 7-1 since WNBA play resumed following the Olympic break. The Fever’s solely loss throughout that stretch was Aug. 24 at Minnesota, which is Indiana’s subsequent opponent, on Friday in Indianapolis.

Wednesday’s sport was Clark’s third in a row with at the very least 20 factors and 10 assists, which is tied with Courtney Vandersloot (for Chicago in 2017) for the longest such streak. Total, Clark has seven video games with at the very least 20 factors and 10 assists. That could be a WNBA single-season file and is already third on the WNBA profession listing behind Vandersloot (10) and the Phoenix Mercury‘s Diana Taurasi (9).

Clark has scored or assisted on 224 factors within the Fever’s five-game win streak, which is yet one more WNBA file. Beforehand, that mark was 220 by Taurasi in 2006, her third season within the league.

“These are video games you actually need to win at dwelling,” Clark stated. “The extra we are able to win, the higher we are able to place ourselves for the playoffs. These followers spend some huge cash to come back right here and watch us and have enjoyable with us. So, you need to form of give them a present each time we’re in right here.”