Clark's 32 help Fever hand Liberty first loss

INDIANAPOLIS -- Caitlin Clark isn't sure how many consecutive 3-pointers she has ever made in a game, but she did recall 12 was the most. That was in high school in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Saturday, against the WNBA's top team, the New York Liberty, she drained three in a row and seven total to lead the Indiana Fever to a 102-88 victory, handing the defending champions their first loss this season.

Clark had a spectacular return to the Fever after missing five games with a left quad injury. She totaled 32 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds, accounting for 54 of Indiana's points through her scoring and passing.

Clark's presence makes the Fever a different team. On Tuesday, they lost 77-58 at Atlanta, their season low in points. Saturday was their season high. The victory avenged a 90-88 loss to the Liberty on May 24, the last game Clark had played before being forced to sit out for the first time in her college or WNBA careers.

"Don't we always expect that kind of game from Caitlin?" Indiana coach Stephanie White said, smiling. "I knew her adrenaline was going to be high to start. She's been itching to get back out there. [Her scoring] carried us in the first half, and then everybody else carried us in the second half. Her decision-making was outstanding; she did a really good job of getting everybody involved, and that's what she does."

Clark had 25 points at halftime. She had a stretch in the first quarter where she drained three straight triples and brought the Gainbridge Fieldhouse sellout crowd of 17,274 to its feet. She hit the first -- a 33-footer -- with 1:26 left in the quarter. She nailed a 27-footer 21 seconds later. Then came a 31-footer 22 seconds after that.

"I saw three in a row go in, so that gives you a lot of confidence," Clark said. "Even in the second half, they all came off my hand feeling really good."

Clark, who played 31 minutes, 18 seconds, said other than being a little winded a few times, she felt fine.

"My legs felt really strong, I felt in good shape," she said. "A lot of that is credit to our medical team. They have kept me in shape. Now for me, it's just how I recover, especially with the schedule that we have coming up."

The Fever are at home against Connecticut on Tuesday, their final game in the Commissioner's Cup standings, where they are tied with New York at 3-1. Between Thursday and June 27, they play five times, four of those on the road. That includes their first West Coast trip of the season, as they play at Golden State, Las Vegas and Seattle.

With Clark and guard Sophie Cunningham (ankle) back, the Fever look ready to take on the rest of the league. Admittedly, New York wasn't at full strength since 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones (ankle) and fellow post player Leonie Fiebich (overseas commitment for Germany for EuroBasket competition) were out Saturday.

That impacted how the Liberty had to play, and by the fourth quarter it had taken a toll. Guard Sabrina Ionescu led New York with 34 points while forward Breanna Stewart had 24. Stewart also had the most success of any Liberty defender in guarding Clark, holding her to just three points on 1-of-5 shooting. Clark got 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting against six other defenders.

"Credit to Indiana, I thought they did a really good job here," Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. "We had our moments ... we had that run where Stewie was guarding Caitlin Clark. But then they executed well, and we had so many breakdowns in defense. They made shots, they really punished us at that end making 17 3s."

Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell (22 points) and Lexie Hull (14) each had three 3-pointers. Cunningham, who had started the season sidelined by an ankle injury, played four games and then hurt the ankle again, had five points but did her job defensively and finished at plus-31, the best plus/minus on either side.

The Fever also got 10 points from reserve guard Sydney Colson as the Liberty held Indiana's starting posts, Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard, to a combined 14 points. But Clark said the Fever understood what New York was trying to take away inside, which is why they focused so much on perimeter offense.

"That's kind of what they gave up -- they were going to let us shoot 3s," Clark said. "When we came off of ball screens, they weren't giving up the pocket as much. So we really took advantage of what they were giving us. That's what you have to do when you play really good teams."

The Liberty (9-1) and Minnesota Lynx, last year's WNBA Finals teams, lost their first games of 2025 this week; Minnesota fell at Seattle on Wednesday. The Lynx bounced back with a 101-78 win over Los Angeles on Saturday. New York will try to do the same Tuesday vs. Atlanta.

For Indiana (5-5), it was a needed confidence boost to beat the Liberty, especially after having gone 2-3 with Clark sidelined. Even without DeWanna Bonner, who missed Saturday's game for personal reasons, the Fever had the depth and composure to beat New York.

"Emotionally, it's a relief, it's a lift," White said. "The biggest thing is this team is resilient. It hasn't been easy, and it's not going to be. Winning is hard. You've got to go through the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows. This group, they stay together. They draw strength from one another, I draw strength from them. Every single day we take one step forward together, we're building trust."