Caitlin Clark only managed to score 10 points in her first WNBA game since criticizing Team USA’s Olympics, with the Indiana Fever star playing just 22 minutes against the Connecticut Sun on Monday.
Two days after being overlooked by the Star and Stripes for this summer’s Paris Games, the 21-year-old Clark recorded her fourth-fewest points of the season, going 3 of 8 from the field and 2 from 5 from behind the arc – all in the first half – in Indiana’s 72-89 loss in Montville, Connecticut.
She picked up her fourth foul with 4:41 left in the third quarter and did not play in the final period. Fans in Connecticut chanted “We want Caitlin!” We want Caitlin!’ midway through the fourth.
Clark had noticeably stolen the ball near midfield before the halftime buzzer, when DiJonai Carrington, who had a season-high 22 points, raced the other way for a layup that barely beat the buzzer and gave Connecticut a 55-35 lead. Clark also airballed a floater while left wide open in the paint midway through the third.
Connecticut (10-1), which won three games this season against Indiana (3-10), has not lost to the Fever since July 3, 2021. The Sun became the second team in the WNBA to record 10 wins this season and the Fever are the second team to lose 10 games.
Caitlin Clark continues to wrestle in the WNBA even after competing in the Olympics
Clark, who has helped the league break its attendance and viewership records since being drafted in April with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, broke her silence on Sunday about her omission from the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball roster, insisting that she’ll make it happen ensure that the team ‘wins gold’.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” she told reporters at Fever practice. “I know this is the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way whether I was on the team or not.
“I’m excited for them, I’m going to cheer them on to win gold. I was a kid who grew up watching the Olympics, it will be fun to watch it. …Honestly, not a disappointment. I guess it just gives you something to work for. It’s a dream, hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. Remember that and hopefully I can be there in four years.”
Clark’s exclusion sparked a flurry of debate, with the US team reportedly featuring a slew of heavyweights, including MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. But her reaction to not making the cut was praised by fans, who branded it as ‘classy’.
The point guard, who is also the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in Division I, is averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game so far in her rookie season.
Clark didn’t play the entire fourth quarter of Monday’s game because he was in foul trouble
Clark, who said she grew up watching the nine-time Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. team, said she was told before the report was made public that she was not on the team.
“They called me and let me know before everything came out, which was very respectful of them and I appreciated that,” Clark told reporters.
“They did the same thing for every girl who was on the team, or every girl who wasn’t on the team. There are a lot of players in the Olympic pool, so it wasn’t like I was the only one they had to call. They had to make quite a few phone calls.”
The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter, who scored 30 points in the Fever’s 85-83 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday, said there were positives to the Olympic break.
“It’s going to be a great month for my body to, you know, just rest, get healthy and get away from basketball and the craziness of everything that’s going on,” Clark said.