Caitlin Clark’s Fever home debut came with a signature 3-pointer

INDIANAPOLIS — It took nearly three quarters for Caitlin Clark to hit a 3-pointer in her home opener with the Fever.

But when she did, the No. 1 overall pick used a step-back jumper — just like she did so many times at Iowa — to make the shot.

Clark’s 3 with 1:31 left in the third frame pulled the Fever within 15 points against the Liberty, and she scored seven of Indiana’s final nine points of the quarter to trim their deficit to 11 entering the fourth.

Breanna Stewart rebounds in big way for Liberty after opening-night dud

Before that, though, Clark struggled for most of Thursday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and she was held to just nine points in the Fever’s 102-66 blowout loss to the Liberty .

She scored the Fever’s first points on a shot near the basket but remained scoreless for the rest of the first half — starting 1-for-5 from the field.

Clark spent most of the second half in foul trouble, too, before her mini-run to close the third after picking up her fourth foul.

Caitlin Clark’s home debut a rough welcome thanks to Liberty rout

But perhaps that one shot was a sign of Clark finding the early stages of a rhythm.

Of a groove that, even to some degree, resembled what would happen during Iowa’s games.

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Clark connected on 37.8 percent of her 3s in 2023-24 with the Hawkeyes, including plenty from well beyond the arc and closer to the mid-court logo.

Those shots allowed her to collect points in clusters and eventually become the all-time leading scorer for both men’s and women’s college basketball.

She hit four of the 11 she attempted during her regular-season debut Tuesday at Connecticut.

But those makes, and the 20 points she collected overall, were overshadowed by the 10 turnovers Clark committed.

Two days later, Clark cut down on the miscues, committing just three in the game.

It still took time for the made shots to follow, but when they did, when that one 3-pointer dropped through the net, it made everything seem — at least for the moment — normal.

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