No Caitlin Clark 3-pointers? No problem for the Indiana Fever.
The Fever star didn’t hit a single 3-pointer for the first time in her WNBA career, but her team held on to beat the Atlanta Dream 81-76 on Thursday.
It was a frustrating 3-point shooting night for Indiana overall, but especially for Clark. She was mostly quiet on the night as she dealt with foul trouble, finishing with 11 points, six assists and four rebounds. From 3-point land, she went 0-for-5.
It’s the first time she’s played a game without a made 3 since Jan. 13, 2022, when she was a sophomore at Iowa.
Despite the tough night for Clark, Indiana dominated near the bucket. Natasha Howard had a game-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting as the Fever outscored Atlanta 46-20 in the paint. The Dream did most of their damage from behind the arc with 10 made 3-pointers. Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 24 points and three makes from behind the arc.
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It was back-and-forth for much of the game and Atlanta led with less than three minutes to go, but Kelsey Mitchell made her first 3-pointer of the night when it mattered most, putting the Fever ahead for good with 85 seconds left. Indiana closed the game on a 10-1 run.
Indiana gets revenge after Atlanta defeated the Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday and moves to 2-1 on the season.Caitlin Clark stats tonight
Points: 11
Assists: 6
Rebounds: 4
Steals: 1
Blocks: 0
Turnovers: 4
Fouls: 5
Shooting: 4-for-11
3-point shooting: 0-for-5
Free throws: 3-for-5
Fever closing in on victory
Indiana is on its way to hanging on, leading 80-76 with five seconds left. Caitlin Clark found Aliyah Boston for a critical layup to extend the lead, and Atlanta couldn’t respond.
