Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA rookie scoring record as Wilson passes 1,000 points

Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 35 points with eight assists, Kelsey Mitchell added 30 points and the duo combined for 12 of Indiana’s 16 three-pointers as the Fever beat the Dallas Wings 110-109 on Sunday.

Clark, who ties the WNBA single-season record with 329 assists, has a rookie-record 761 points this season, breaking Seimone Augustus’ 2006 record of 744.

Clark paid tribute to Augustus after the game.

“I took my picture with her on my dad’s little phone — it looked like a BlackBerry back in the day,” Clark said. “I remember it vividly. I was always a fan of her game and the way she could shoot the ball.”

Indiana (20-19), which lost two straight to the two-time reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, clinched the sixth spot in the playoffs, which begin next Sunday. The Fever, making their first playoff appearance since 2016, will play the third-seeded Connecticut Sun, which has won three of the four regular-season games between the teams, in the first round.

“Everybody is absolutely excited about the playoffs,” Clark said. “We’re not just happy to be there. We really feel like we can compete with any team.”

Indiana tied their franchise record for single-game scoring and tied their season record for three-pointers made. The Fever made 38-of-76 shots from the field, shot 47 percent from three-point range and were 18-of-21 (86 percent) from the free throw line.

Elsewhere on Sunday, A’ja Wilson became the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in a season, scoring 29 in the Las Vegas Aces’ 84-71 win over the Sun.

Wilson hit a pull-up off the elbow with two minutes left to reach the mark. Earlier this week, the Aces star broke the single-season scoring record that Jewell Loyd set last year. Las Vegas called a timeout about 30 seconds later, and her teammates mobbed Wilson. She then took the court to a loud ovation from the crowd.

“I really have to credit my offseason work and my preparation,” Wilson said after the game. “I’m taking time to get away from basketball, to miss it. So when I’m in it, I don’t take it for granted. My screensaver is, ‘Rest at the end, not in the middle,’ and that’s something I tell myself every day. I’ve got work to do, that’s going to be my mindset until I’m done playing, until I’ve gotten the most out of this game.”

The Aces (25-13) hold a one-game lead over Seattle for fourth place in the playoffs and home-field advantage in that series. Las Vegas has won seven of its last eight games.