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WNBA Indiana Fever

Clark Keeps Adding Accolades, Fever Keep Stacking Wins

September 4, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


On July 6th, Caitlin Clark became the WNBA's first rookie to record a triple-double. On Wednesday, she doubled that record as she dropped 24 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and passed out 10 assists in Indiana's 93-86 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. She's just the sixth WNBA player in history to record multiple career triple-doubles.

Clark, the league's Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and Rookie of the Month, remains focused on the team success that rises higher than any individual accolades.

"You've got to win to have all that on the side," Clark said. "...For me, it's fun winning basketball games. It's fun walking off the court and the crowd's going crazy because you just won, and you played a good game. So for me, that's where my main focus is. And I think when I do that, everything else comes along with it."

"She really doesn't care about those things," Coach Christie Sides said of Clark. "She just wants to keep getting better, keep helping the team get better, and just keep moving forward to be the best team that we can be. But she's growing and she's steady, and she's learning this game, and she's learning her teammates. And that's why we just have some really good things that keep happening, because they're learning each other. And if one is down, we've got others that are stepping up all the time."

The Indiana Fever, who clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday, are enjoying a hot streak unrivaled in the WNBA. They're 7-1 since the Olympic break, eclipsing .500 with an 18-16 record, and look to do more chipping away at the playoff seeding block after a win over the league's 12th-ranked team.

"We're not done yet," Sides said. "...Our goal is to make the playoffs, and we've done that, and we have six games now remaining...We don't have to prove ourselves anymore. We just have to make sure we keep doing what we've been doing, and find ways to get that 1% better."

The ceiling keeps rising for this Fever team as more variables become constants. Offensive outputs from X-factor Lexie Hull have pushed her to fourth in the WNBA by 3-point shooting percentage, and Indiana has the league's fifth-best defensive rating post-Olympics. Kelsey Mitchell trails only A'ja Wilson in points per game after the break with her 25.6 points per game in the last eight contests. Clark trails Mitchell for third in the league over that same span of games with 24.5 per contest.

All five starters for the Fever - Clark, Mitchell, Boston, Hull, and NaLyssa Smith - were drafted by the organization. They've never worn another WNBA team's name across the front of their jerseys. That loyalty and trust that emanates through the on-court play of Indiana evidences the strength of relationships that are driving their success throughout this stretch of season.

"The relationships we've built with one another as teammates, as friends, that's definitely carried over onto the court," Clark said. "And the way we're playing for one another, and the passion we're playing with, and the way we celebrate our teammates' success, I think that's the best way to play basketball."

The shift is evident. Momentous plays earn demonstrative reactions from the bench, smiles abound, and the combined high-five and chest-bump sightings are reaching all-time highs.

The Indiana Fever have the most fun and play with the most joy when they're winning, and when they're rolling, they have the potential to threaten any top team in the WNBA. As they end a sensational season with five straight home games before departing to Washington D.C. to close out their regular season schedule, they'll continue to play with the same passion that's powered them to this 7-1 stretch.

"The character in that locker room is incredible," Sides said. "They're just great people, and it's just really, really fun to watch them...They keep growing, and the sky's the limit for these guys."

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