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Caitlin Clark scored 15 points, dished out 12 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds as the Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury 88-82 on Sunday. Clark was 4 of 14 from the field and 2 of 10 from three-point range. But she converted two free throws with 19.9 seconds left to put the Fever up three. Indiana trailed by as many as 15 in the first half.
Kelsey Mitchell's basket with 35 seconds remaining gave Indiana the lead for good. She converted two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to secure the victory. Mitchell had 16 points, all in the second half.
Indiana Fever finished June 7-4 after finishing May 1-8. Aliyah Boston led the team with 17 points and 8 rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith added 12 points and 15 rebounds. For Indiana, Temi Fagbenle scored ten points. Despite not feeling well, Sides stated that Clark participated in the game for all but 33 seconds. For Phoenix, Brittney Griner scored 24, Diana Taurasi scored 19, and Natasha Cloud scored 15.
Although she only scored seven points on 3-of-15 shooting before fouling out in the closing seconds, Kahleah Copper, who came into the game ranked third in the WNBA at 22.7 points per game, was mostly responsible for protecting Clark.
It was Taurasi and Clark's first on-court meeting. Taurasi, 42, is the WNBA's all-time top scorer, currently in her 20th season. She was a student in Connecticut when Clark was born. The 22-year-old Fever rookie noted before the game that Taurasi was one of her inspirations when she first learned about the WNBA.
Smith and Taurasi were called for a flagrant-1 foul
When Caitlin Clark was picked first overall after leading Iowa to back-to-back NCAA Championship games, Taurasi quipped, "Reality is coming," when questioned about Clark's entry into the league. Later, Taurasi clarified that she meant it would be a difficult adjustment to professional basketball.
Smith and Taurasi were called for a flagrant-1 foul in the last minute of the half. With 2:17 left, Cloud was called for a flagrant-1 foul on Katie Lou Samuelson, who sank both of her free throws to make the score 78-77. On Monday, Phoenix will host Connecticut Sun. On Tuesday, Indiana wraps off a five-game road trip in Las Vegas.