Caitlin Clark catches fire from 3 in WNBA preseason; Arike Ogunbowale’s late heroics send Wings past Fever
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA preseason debut went much like her senior year at Iowa. She hit a bunch of 3s and did so in front of a sold-out crowd.
But it didn’t end in a win.
Just weeks after playing in the NCAA championship game, Clark made her WNBA debut for the Indiana Fever on Friday night in a preseason game against the Dallas Wings. She hit three first-quarter 3s and scored a game-high 21 points.
But it wasn’t enough for the win as All-Star Arike Ogunbowale sunk the Fever with a step-back 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining in a 79-76 Wings win.
Clark had a contested look a game-tying 3, but it was well off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
road crowd greets Clark with cheers
A crowd of 7,000 people showed up to the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, to see Clark’s debut. They gave a raucous cheer to her first game-day introduction as a WNBA player.
It didn’t take long for Clark to give fans what they paid to see. Less then a minute into the game, Clark pulled up from beyond the arc on the right wing for her first 3-point attempt in a WNBA uniform. It sank through the net for a 5-2 Fever lead.
Minutes later, she did it again. Her second 3 extended Indiana’s first quarter lead to 14-3. She then drew a foul on a 3-point shot and hit 2 of 3 free throws to extend the Fever lead to 16-9 midway through the first.
Her third made 3 with 2:55 left in the quarter put fellow rookie and former Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon (No. 5 pick) on the floor. She knocked her former Big Ten rival to the court to get open, then pulled up from the top of the arc.
