Caitlin Clark overcomes 0-5 start to earn first WNBA win

Kaitlyn Clark looked like a work in progress on Friday, but she became the Kaitlyn Clark everyone expected her to be, and it resulted in her winning the first WNBA championship of her career.

The No. 1 overall draft pick shook off a slow start. Indiana Fever defeats Los Angeles Sparks 78-73The Warriors ended a season-opening five-game losing streak. Clark finished with just five points and 0-of-7 3-pointers in the final seconds of the game, but that clearly didn’t influence her decision.

First, with two and a half minutes remaining, Clark made a shot from distance to extend his team’s lead to six points.

And she scored the deciding goal, beating LA with a deep step-back with 40 seconds left.

If you’re judging Clark’s performance at Iowa by the numbers, he didn’t have a very good game overall, finishing with an inefficient 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting (2-of-9 from the 3-point line), but he also contributed a team-high 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Of course, if you’re looking at her as a rookie who was immediately given primary ball-handling duties less than two months after playing a full college season on a team that finished 13-27 last year, it’s still an encouraging step for a potential league-changing player.

of heat The (1-5) trailed by 11 at halftime but quickly caught up as the Sparks struggled and committed 19 turnovers. Kelsey Mitchell She led the team with 18 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter, to lead the team to the win. Indiana’s former No. 1 pick, Aaliyah Boston, also had a strong game with 17 points and six rebounds.

Sparks selected second overall Cameron Brink She finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks on 5-of-9 shooting, turning in the best game of her early career. Dearica Hamby He had a great game with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.