Caitlin Clark bounces into record books with 45 points and 10 assists

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark seemed “bouncy” to Indiana coach Stephanie White before the Fever faced the Seattle Storm on Friday night.

The sharpshooting star not too far removed from a back injury bounced right into the record books — her own, her team’s and the WNBA’s.

Clark had the first 40-point game of her three-year career while helping rally the Fever to a 110-107 victory, scoring 45 points with 10 assists to become the first player with 40 or more points and 10 or more assists in a game in WNBA history.

Oh, and the scoring total was a franchise record.

“I feel like you just have to believe you’re going to have those type of nights,” said Clark, who was 11 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and had two more career highs by going 17 of 19 on free throws. “And you have to visualize having those type of nights. I feel like that’s what I did.”

It was Clark’s fourth game since returning from a two-week absence due to a back injury that sidelined her after a game against Phoenix in which she took a hit to the throat from Alyssa Thomas. The incident eventually led to a one-game suspension for Thomas.

Because of a long break between games, Clark only missed two. She played a season-low 16 minutes in a 106-92 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks in her first game back.

Clark, who became the fastest player to reach 200 career 3-pointers in the first half, played all but 26 seconds of the fourth quarter against the Storm and scored 16 points while finishing just shy of her first 30-minute game in almost a month.

With the score tied in the final minute after the Fever trailed by eight midway through the fourth quarter, Clark recovered to block a breakaway layup attempt by Flau’jae Johnson. She then hit the 3-pointer that put Indiana up for good at 105-102 and made all four of her free throws in the final 17 seconds.

“I told (White) at halftime I felt really good and I didn’t want to lose this game,” Clark said. “I can trust all the work I’ve put in on my body. I’ve spent a ton of time on it. I know I’m doing all the right things. There was no way I was ever coming out of the game in the fourth quarter.”

Clark didn’t play the first back-to-back coming off her latest injury, and the Fever have their next one with a visit from the New York Liberty on Saturday night. Clark didn’t rule out playing in that one.

White wanted to spend a little time savoring this one.

“She does things that we haven’t seen,” White said. “In the moment, sometimes it’s surreal to see. Looking down at the stat sheet, and I’m looking at different numbers, and I look down at the stat sheet at the end of the game and it’s like, ‘Holy (expletive). Forty-five and 10.’ Just an absolutely incredible performance.”

Clark’s career night came after she went 3 of 19 from 3-point range in the previous three games, dropping her shooting percentage from behind the arc to 32%. She finished the game one 3 shy of her career best.

“You’ve just got to dig your feet in a little bit,” Clark said. “When it’s not going your way, nobody cares. Find a way to make it better and find a way to help your team win and make this team better.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball