Caitlin Clark shines in return as Indiana Fever hand New York Liberty first loss of season
Caitlin Clark sized up Breanna Stewart on the wing in the second quarter, crossed over and stepped back for a 3-pointer from 31 feet. After the preposterous triple splashed through the net, Clark ribbed the two-time MVP back down the court, and all Stewart could do was laugh.
After five games away from the court, Clark was rearing to go, eager to get the Fever back on track after an uneven start to the season. That her return came against the undefeated New York Liberty was icing on the cake, as the reigning rookie of the year delighted in taking on Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu in an encore of May 24's thriller between the two teams.
Indiana gave away a fourth-quarter lead in that meeting but took care of business in the final period this time around. Led by Clark's 32 points and nine assists, the Fever (5-5) cracked 100 points for the first time this season and dealt the 2025 Liberty (9-1) their first defeat, winning 102-88.
Caitlin Clark knocks down her 7th three to extend our 17-0 run and force a timeout 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eNhppjVAiO
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 14, 2025
Kelsey Mitchell added 22 points, Aliyah Boston had 14 and Sydney Colson — back in a bench role after starting in Clark's absence — had her first double-digit scoring effort for the Fever to go along with six assists.
The Fever were out of sorts to start, falling behind 13-6 within the first four minutes. The deficit was still at nine when Clark returned for her second shift of the first quarter. (Coach Stephanie White played Clark in shorter spurts in her return from injury.) But a nine-point flurry in 38 seconds to end the quarter — three 3-pointers from a combined 93 feet — got Clark in a rhythm. The rest of the team fed off that energy as Indiana took a 53-50 lead into halftime, the first time all year that New York trailed at the break.
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Clark was unconscious from distance in the first half, making six of nine 3-pointers en route to 25 points, her career-high for a half. She toyed with Natasha Cloud, Rebekah Gardner and any other Liberty defender who wound up guarding her. New York was forced to put Stewart on Clark in the second half with Leonie Fiebich at EuroBasket. It worked in isolation, as Clark had seven points. However the point guard still had six assists that led to 15 points and dragged Stewart onto the perimeter, compromising the Liberty's rebounding. They had thrived on second chances in the first half. — Sabreena Merchant
Entering Sunday's game against the Fever, the Liberty had the league's No. 1 defensive rating, allowing only 88.1 points per 100 possessions. That mark was seven points better than the league's second-best defense. But playing without their defensive anchor Jonquel Jones, New York's defense struggled, especially in the first half. The Liberty allowed 53 first-half points, the most they had given up in a half this season.
Indiana shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range in each quarter, as the Liberty tried to throw different defensive looks at the Fever, often to no avail. Cloud, Kennedy Burke, Gardner and Stewart all guarded Clark at different points in the game. And even though Clark went scoreless in the fourth quarter, with Stewart largely serving as the primary defender, New York allowed Indiana's Mitchell to get into the lane too often for their liking and surrendered open looks to guards Colson and Lexie Hull.
Clark's 32 point outing will draw headlines, but it's the 39 combined points scored by Colson, Hull, and center Damiris Dantas that really cost New York this game — Ben Pickman
When the Liberty and Fever met on May 24, Jones helped to orchestrate New York's fourth-quarter comeback. The 2021 league MVP and 2024 WNBA Finals MVP scored 14 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter, as the Liberty eked out a two-point win.
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Jones missed her second consecutive game on Saturday as she deals with an ankle injury that she suffered against the Washington Mystics on June 5. Her absence was felt. Saturday's game flipped in the third quarter as Indiana went on a 19-0 run. The Liberty never regained the lead, and although they finished with 44 paint points, New York allowed 36 points in the paint and got outrebounded. The good news? Coach Sandy Brondello said pregame she expects Jones to return on Tuesday when the Liberty play the Atlanta Dream. — Pickman
(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
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