Lately, a Tiktok user posted a video of Caitlin Clark with this caption: “A frustrated Caitlin Clark slams her towel on the bench into the ground during a second straight rough first half in the #WNBA or her.
She finished the first half with just 2 points and the game with 9 points”.
You can watch the video here:
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Another quiet night for Caitlin Clark as Liberty show how far Indiana Fever have to go
The Indiana Fever continued through their gauntlet of an opening week schedule Thursday, playing WNBA runner-up New York Liberty in their home-opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
And New York spoiled Fever rookie Caitlin Clark’s debut with a 102-66 victory. The two teams will rematch at the Barclays Center 1 p.m., Saturday.
Here are three observations:
Caitlin Clark finds mor
e of a rhythm
The first two points on the Fever’s new court came from Clark. She fought through Liberty guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton in the paint, going for a quick jumper.
Clark seemed more relaxed than she was in Connecticut in the season-opener — her teammates did, too. They had more of a rhythm to their offense, and Clark was able to find her teammates for five assists in the first half — including a bounce pass for an easy layup for Aliyah Boston.
Clark still had some miscues — she fouled Breanna Stewart while going for a rebound in the final seconds of the first half, which gave Stewart two free throws and Clark her third foul of the night.
Clark quickly picked up her fourth foul just 30 seconds into the third quarter, then her fifth with 7:30 left, which forced her to play carefully until she checked out for the final time with three minutes left in the game.
The ball wasn’t falling for Clark from 3-point range either. Those two points she scored to open the Fever’s scoring ended up being the only she scored in the half, and she went 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. She finished the game with nine points, going 1-of-7 from 3-point range and 2-of-8 from the field.
Fever defense, rebounding discombobulated
In the first half, Stewart had it easy. The Liberty forward went 8-of-14 from the field for 20 points in the first 20 minutes, taking advantage of the Fever’s discombobulated defense for open layups and quick jumpers.
The Fever struggled with their communication in defensive rotations, frequently leaving the paint open for Stewart and Jones. The Liberty’s dominance in the paint helped them gain a hefty lead — New York was struggling from beyond the arc, but finished with 48 paint points.
Indiana’s rebounding was also subpar, at least compared to New York. The Liberty once took four 3-point shots on one possession, easily grabbing the rebound each time. The Liberty had multiple putback opportunities in the paint, too, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds. The Liberty’s overall rebounding edge led to 78 shots, 18 more than the Fever.
How many points did Caitlin Clark score?
Clark scored the first two points of the game, but she was held scoreless for the rest of the half. She heated up in the third quarter, though, scoring seven straight points.
She had a more balanced game on Thursday night, with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
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