Caitlin Clark dishes 19 assists vs. Wings, breaks WNBA single-game record
In the final game before the WNBA All-Star and Olympic breaks, Caitlin Clark made even more history. The Indiana Fever guard broke Courtney Vandersloot’s mark for the league’s single-game assists record during an impressive performance against the Dallas Wings.
Clark found Kelsey Mitchell with just over two minutes left to tie things up at 93-93. It was her 19th assist of the night, which gave her the single-game record amid an impressive second half.
Clark ended the night with 19 assists to go with 24 points as she helped Indiana come back to make things interesting down the stretch. In the second half alone, she had 10 points and 11 assists. However, it wasn’t enough as Arike Ogunbowale and Jacy Sheldon helped propel the Wings to the 97-93 victory to spoil the historic moment.
It’s the latest milestone for Clark during her rookie season, which will now take a hiatus as she heads to her first WNBA All-Star Game. The Fever will return to action Aug. 16 against the Phoenix Mercury. That will be after the All-Star festivities and the Paris Olympics.
Clark entered the WNBA with plenty of hype as the No. 1 overall pick after a record-setting career at Iowa. It’s safe to say, she’s lived up to the billing with multiple historic performances – including the first triple-double by a rookie in league history earlier this month.
All told, Clark ended the first half averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Indiana will also take an 11-15 record into the break after appearing to find its stride over the last few games.
The Fever started the year with a 2-9 record, but turned things around to go 9-5 over their final 14 games before the month off. Caitlin Clark led that charge, but the connection with forward Aliyah Boston also started to come together in the two-man game. Clark broke down what she brings to the Fever after last week’s win over the Minnesota Lynx.
“She’s just tremendous. She just dominates,” Clark said of Boston. “Honestly we probably should have got her the ball a little bit more, but they played pretty much a front defense on her. But she’s just tremendous. She’s really good. Sky’s the limit for her, I think she’s only going to get better and better so I’m super proud of her.”
The WNBA All-Star Game will get underway Saturday night in Phoenix. Then, there will be a few weeks off for the Olympics before the season starts back up in mid-August.