Caitlin Clark shares emotional moment with Cheryl Miller after ending WNBA wait
After starting her WNBA career with five successive losses, Caitlin Clark finally secured a victory with the Indiana Fever, showing out in front of a sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena
Caitlin Clark was greeted by Cheryl Miller after the Fever’s win ( Image: @YahooSports/X)
Caitlin Clark embraced women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller after securing her first WNBA victory with the Indiana Fever on Friday night.
Before a raucous star-studded crowd of 19,103 at Crypto.com Arena, Clark tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds to score her first WNBA double-double as the Fever secured a 78-73 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. Clark also added 8 assists to help Indiana end a five-game losing run to open the 2024 season.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 18 points while Aliyah Boston and Temi Fagbenle had 17 each. Clark was beaming following the victory, declaring: “The first one feels really good.”
Clark, who put up a career-high in rebounds, missed her first seven three-point attempts but finally connected on a deep strike with 2:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. After the game, she embraced Miller, a two-time NCAA champion with USC.
Clark also high-fived actor and Iowa alum Ashton Kutcher, who was seated courtside. She said: “That’s a fellow Hawkeye, somebody that’s been very supportive of me over the course of my college career. He was encouraging me the whole game.”
The Sparks had played their first two home games in Long Beach, but with Clark and the Fever coming to town, the game was upgraded to downtown L.A. where the Los Angeles Lakers stage their home games. Plenty of stars were in attendance, from Jason Sudeikis and Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson to USC sensation JuJu Watkins and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
Caitlin Clark also celebrated her first Fever victory with fellow Iowa alum Ashton Kutcher ( Image: Getty Images)
The clash between the Sparks and Fever lived up to the hype. Clark, the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, went toe-to-toe with No. 2 pick Cameron Brink and fourth selection Rickea Jackson of the Sparks. Brink tallied 15 points and 9 rebounds while Jackson enjoyed a career-high 16 points off the bench to go with Dearica Hambry’s team-high 18 points.
The Sparks had entered the game full of confidence having defeated the Washington Mystics on Wednesday for their first win of the season. But Clark’s Indiana is finally off the mark, holding a 1-5 record to stave off any criticism of the former Iowa guard as she transitions to the professional arena.
The Fever face the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces – who are 1-2 – in their next game on May 25. Clark will clash with Brink’s Sparks once again on Tuesday, May 27 in Indianapolis.
