Caitlin Clark showed that she can do it on not only the offensive end, but also on defense in the Indiana Fever's 83-80 preseason win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night. It backed up what co-star Aliyah Boston recently said in a rave review of Clark's well-rounded game.
With the Fever up three, 83-80, with 19.1 seconds remaining, the Dream ran a play to get Crystal Dangerfield the ball to get a 3-pointer to tie the game. However, Atlanta could not get anything going as Clark closed out hard on Dangerfield, with her pressure forcing the latter to dish the ball out to Aerial Powers.
As the shot clock ran out and Powers pressed to take a shot, the 30-year-old heaved a shot that Grace Berger emphatically blocked. After the ball was inbounded, the Fever ran out the clock and once the game officially ended, the team huddled up to celebrate one another on a job well done.
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NaLyssa Smith led the way for the Fever, scoring 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including a highlight-worthy ankle breaker early in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Clark finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, 2 of 9 from 3-point land, to go along with eight rebounds, and six assists.
What's more, Clark showed her vision in the third quarter, throwing a picture-perfect outlet pass to Smith, who hit the layup in transition to put the Fever up 50-49 with about 9:30 remaining. That was Indiana's first lead since the 9:45 mark of the first quarter, when it led 2-0.
Overall, while Clark did not have the best game offensively, she was still able to make an impact without putting the ball in the bucket, as evidenced by how she got her teammates the ball and how she was willing to play gritty defense when needed. Clark's ability to do what is needed bodes well for her chances of success .
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Before the Fever's preseason game against the Dream, Boston spoke glowingly of Clark's game and how she's able to use every facet of her game to her advantage to get each one of her teammates involved, showing how unselfish she is.
"Caitlin has a different eye for the game," Boston said, per ESPN . "You're able to see how well she passes the ball and how well she shoots it. You see her communicating, you see the way she can find you, I mean her passes are tremendous. I'm like, 'OK, I;ll get a touch, just let me get down there' just because of how well she passes it."
Fever head coach Christie Sides echoed Boston's sentiments of Clark's innate ability to control the flow of the game with her abilities. "Her ability to space the floor for us is just incredible," Sides added. "We're going to have five players on the court that can shoot it, but her passing ability - you saw some of the passes she made.
"I'm more mad at how many missed layups we had. I think we're just not used to having those, someone who can make those passes."
After the game, Clark was spotted hugging former teammate Gabbie Marshall, who made the trip to Indianapolis to see her former Iowa teammate. The two shared an emotional moment before Clark headed back to the locker room to join her new teammates.
Indiana's season will tip off on May 14 against the Connecticut Sun. The Fever's home opener will be against the New York Liberty two days later.
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