Caitlin Clark becomes first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double
Caitlin Clark has done a lot of impressive things already in her young WNBA career, but she just topped all of her feats to date by recording the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history.
Clark accomplished the feat with time to spare against the New York Liberty on Saturday afternoon, pulling down her 10th rebound with 7:06 to go in the game.
With 15 points and 10 assists already, Clark made history by securing that final rebound. Clark went on to finish the game with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds to help carry the Fever to an 83-78 upset of the Liberty.
Clark had already gotten close to a triple-double earlier this season, recording 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in a game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 30. When she nearly pulled it off then, Clark was playing through an illness that had plagued her throughout the game.
Feeling healthier on Saturday against the Liberty, Clark was active on the glass and managed to hunt down those elusive rebounds she needed to make history. She’s already done some other things that have never been accomplished by a WNBA rookie, too.
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Clark has been on an absolutely torrid pace, becoming the fastest player in WBNA history to record 200 points, 75 rebounds and 75 assists. What she’s doing has caught the eye of veterans around the league, including superstar Diana Taurasi, who watched Clark nearly record a triple-double against her team a few weeks ago.
“I mean it’s amazing. What Caitlin’s been able to do in her short career so far has just been nothing short of remarkable,” Taurasi said. “And the one thing that I really love about her is she really loves the game. You can tell she’s put the work in.
“Even throughout her short WNBA career, it’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her. She keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game, so her future is super bright. Being a veteran, being in this league for a long, long time, it’s pretty cool to see that and going into the future.”
Through the first 21 games of her WNBA career — not counting Sunday’s result against the Liberty — Caitlin Clark had averaged 16.0 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game.