Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut got off to a bit of a rocky start before she seemed to find her rhythm late in the first half.
The Fever superstar scored her first WNBA basket with just over five minutes to play in the first half and finished with seven points on 2-for-7 shooting and five turnovers as Indiana trailed the Sun 51-42 at half.
It was far from the play that basketball fans have come to expect from Clark during her four years playing college ball at the University of Iowa.
Clark was covered extensively by Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington, who was not giving Clark too many chances at uncontested shots.
Clark’s first basket finally came with 5:25 left in the second quarter when she drove to the hoop.
Clark was able to blow by DeWanna Bonner and lay the ball off the glass for the basket.
She picked up her third and fourth points on a pair of free throws with 1:41 left in the half.
Clark, who looked a bit more like herself late in the period, then hit a signature 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds remaining on the clock that served as her first official WNBA trey and pulled the Fever to within nine of the Sun.
All eyes were on Clark on Tuesday night for her highly anticipated WNBA regular-season debut that occurred at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
“I think I’m ready for this moment no matter how it goes. Great, good, bad, whatever it is,” Clark, who was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, said.
“This is a first for me. It’s a great learning opportunity and you only get your first WNBA game one time, so you better make the most of it and soak in every second.”