Caitlin Clark returned from injury with a bang, dropping 32 points to help the Indiana Fever hand defending champions New York Liberty their first loss of the WNBA season, 102-88, at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday (PH time).
Clark, who missed five games due to a quadriceps injury, hit the ground running as she ended up scoring 25 points in the first two quarters. She also hit seven three pointers, tying her career high, on a night that the Fever broke a franchise record in threes with 17 makes from deep.
Caitlin Clark in her first game back:
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 14, 2025
32 PTS
7 3PM (ties career high)
9 AST
8 REB
2 BLK
votes count double today, make her a 2x WNBA All-Star at https://t.co/ZtH8nQmGgT 🌟 pic.twitter.com/PgkLsjwIAF
Clark’s heroics helped the Fever deny New York, even as the Liberty took the reins early and jumped to an 11-point lead, 17-6, after a Breanna Stewart turnaround shot midway through the first quarter.
But the home team weren’t one to be outclassed as they made a scoring run to seize the lead early in the second canto, 27-26, off of a jumper from Clark. By halftime, Indiana was in control and led the game by six, 53-47.
The champion Liberty were the ones to jump the gun in the second half, though, as they scored 12 unanswered points to take the 59-53 lead with 7:31 left in the third canto.
Indiana answered right back with a 19-0 run, capped by free throws from Clark to put themselves ahead permanently, 72-59, with 3:43 remaining in the quarter.
Buoyed by Sabrina Ionescu, New York tried to stage one last run and got to within three points, 82-85, with six minutes left in regulation. That prompted the Fever to then go on one last burst — an unanswered 8-0 run — to bring the game out of reach.
Clark’s return not only impressed in her scoring, as she also flirted with the triple-double, finishing with nine assists, and eight rebounds. She also had two blocks.
Kelsey Mitchell played supporting act to Clark with 22 markers of her own. Aliyah Boston finished with the double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Ionescu had a game-high 34 points in the losing effort for the Liberty. Stewart, for her part, had 24 markers.
The Fever thus evened out their record at 5-5 while the Liberty fell to 9-1.
