Clark Dazzles in 110-107 Win Over Storm

Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 45 points in Indiana's victory.

(Indianapolis, Indiana) - The Seattle Storm (6-21) and the Indiana Fever (15-10) played one of the most entertaining games in the WNBA this season on Friday night. In front of over 17,000 raucous fans, the two teams went back-and-forth in the 2nd half in a game that went down to the final minute. Seattle overcame a 17-point first-half deficit and built an 8-point lead in the 4th quarter, before a reoccurring theme reared its ugly head once again. With four minutes left in the game and the Storm leading by six, the Indiana Fever closed the game on an 18-9 run. Indiana made just a couple more plays down the stretch, including a clutch three by Clark, to win 110-107.

Seattle did a lot of things well in this game. All five starters scored in double figures. Dominique Malonga led the way with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Awa Fam nearly had a double-double with 16 points on 5-6 FG shooting (4-5 FG 3-PT) and nine rebounds. She also had four assists and two blocks. Fellow rookie, Flau’jae Johnson, finished with 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block.

Natisha Hiedeman finished with 15 points and eight assists. And Jade Melbourne added 15 points and five assists. The two guards combined to make 13-24 FG (54%). Overall, the Storm outshot the Fever 57% (43-76 FG) to 50% (36-72 FG). In fact, they won the majority of the team stats.

The Storm out-rebounded the Fever 35-26. They outscored them inside the paint (66-44), outscored them in fast break points (11-6), in second-chance points (16-12), and in bench points (17-9). Seattle also had more assists (27-21). But the category that hurt them the most was free throws. Both in that they made just 72% (13-18 FT), but also that the Fever were a +15 points from the foul line (28-31 FT).

Dominique Malonga complained about that after the game. Coach Raman was asked about it after the game as well.

Raman responded, “I mean, it’s hard to win a ball game with a disparity like that. Dom takes 22 shots, 19 of them are 2s, and let’s say most of those are in the paint, right? When she’s taken twos, they’re in the paint. She took two free throws. So, I think there’s a lot of physicality there that was missed.”

She went on to say, “Credit to Clark and to the Fever for their ability to draw fouls. I’m not saying we don’t foul. I’m just saying the no calls are tough because we’re getting into the paint. We’re getting to the rim, and we’re not getting to the line.”

Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark put forth arguably the best performance of her WNBA career on Friday night. She finished with a career-high 45 points on 11-18 FG, 6-10 FG from beyond the arc, and made 17-19 FT. She also finished with 10 assists, four steals, and two blocks. She became the first player in WNBA history to have a 40-point and 10-assist performance.

Clark said after the game, “I know what I’m capable of, and I know what this team is capable of. It’s my job to help us win and be the best team in the WNBA. And I don’t think we’re there yet, so it’s my responsibility to help us get there, so we’ll keep working.”

While Clark was incredible throughout, Kelsey Mitchell started the game like the human torch. She scored 17 of her 30 points in the first quarter, where the Fever tallied 37 points total.

Indiana rested Aliyah Boston because this game was the first of a back-to-back. They host the New York Liberty tomorrow in Indiana. It was an interesting decision, knowing Seattle has size in the frontcourt, but it worked out for Coach Stephanie White. It’ll be interesting to see if Caitlin Clark plays tomorrow. Coach White has rested Clark or Boston in previous back-to-backs this season.

With Boston out, Monique Billings had to pick up the slack. And she did as the only other Fever player to score in double figures. She finished with 16 points on 5-7 FG, 6-7 from the FT line, and pulled down five rebounds.

Outside of their advantage at the foul line, Indiana was the better three-point shooting team. They edged Seattle 44% (10-23 FG) to 38% (8-21 FG) from beyond the arc. They also forced the Storm into 18 turnovers while committing just 13. They outscored Seattle 22-18 in points off turnovers.

Game Breakdown

Jade Melbourne was fouled to start the game and split the two free throws. Kelsey Mitchell added a layup on the other end. Dominique Malonga scored inside for Seattle. Malonga scored again before Caitlin Clark knocked down a deep two. Indiana used an 8-0 run with points from Clark, Mitchell, Monique Billings, and Lexie Hull as Indiana led 10-5 early in the first period.

After two free throws from Awa Fam, Caitlin Clark found Billings on her way to the rim for two. Flau’jae Johnson made a layup. Clark hit one of her patented step-back three-pointers. Jade got two back, going right at Clark on the other end.

Billings was fouled and made both free throws. Flau’jae converted an And-1 to cut the Fever’s lead to three at 17-14. Clark stole the pass in the backcourt as Hiedeman didn’t come to meet the ball. Clark found Kelsey Mitchell under the rim for two. Mitchell added an And-1 on another cut to the rim. Zia Cooke answered with a three-pointer at the top of the arc.

Mitchell’s red-hot start continued as she lit up the Storm for 17 points in the opening 10 minutes, including a couple of back-breaking three-pointers. That pushed the Fever’s lead to 12 points at 35-23. Katie Lou Samuelson knocked down a triple on the other end. Ty Harris sank a midrange jumper right before the end of the first with Indiana leading 37-26.

Despite a quick score from Melbourne to open up the second quarter, things quickly got out of control. The Fever went on a 12-4 run, including seven straight, that was capped off by a three-pointer by Caitlin Clark. That put Indiana ahead by 17 points, forcing Coach Sonia Raman into a timeout.

Katie Lou Samuelson scored an And-1 off the pick-and-roll. After another Clark three-ball, Natisha Hiedeman and Jade Melbourne made drives inside the paint. Mitchell scored with another assist from Clark. Seattle used a 7-0 run, which included five more from Hiedeman, to reduce the Fever’s lead to 55-48. Stephanie White quickly called a timeout to reset her team.

Out of the break, Indiana was unable to convert. Malonga scored in transition after an Awa Fam block. Monique Billings scored with an assist from Lexie Hull. Dom answered back with a three-pointer on the other end. Flau’jae missed, but Malonga gathered the offensive rebound, scored, and was fouled for the traditional three-point play. At the end of the first half, the Storm had cut the Fever’s lead to three at 59-56. Seattle ended the second quarter on a 21-7 run and scored 30 points total in the period.

Both Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark scored 19 points each in the opening half. Dominique Malonga led the Storm with 18 points and eight rebounds. Seattle shot 56% (22-39 FG) in the first half, while Indiana shot 49% (19-39 FG). The Fever were a +7 from the free throw line, and made 15-16 FT.

Flau’jae Johnson stole the ball to open the second half and scored. Kelsey Mitchell buried a three-pointer. Clark and Makayla Timpson added four free throws from the foul line. Awa Fam went ballistic from beyond the arc, knocking down four three-pointers in the span of a couple of minutes. After her 4th made three-pointer of the quarter, Coach Stephanie White called a timeout.

The Storm ended the third period on a 13-6 run. Jordan Horston knocked down a turnaround jumper. Flau’jae added an And-1 to give Seattle the lead 80-78. Katie Lou and Johnson scored again. Myisha Hines-Allen finished with a reverse layup. Melbourne beat the clock with another layup as the Storm led 88-82 at the end of the third.

Clark scored for Indiana to open the fourth quarter. She then found Billings for an easy layup to cut Seattle’s lead down to two. The Storm responded with a 6-0 run with two free throws from Zia Cooke, and scores inside by Melbourne and Malonga. That put the Storm ahead 94-86, their largest lead of the game.

Indiana started using some half-court traps that forced Seattle into a turnover. Seattle’s defense also began to falter, giving up some easy scores at the rim by Timpson and Mitchell. Clark hit a difficult off-balanced baseline jumper. Malonga and Hiedeman scored to barely keep the Storm ahead.

Clark cut Seattle’s lead to two with another tough layup. Hiedeman found Fam down low for the layup. Clark hit her 5th three-pointer of the game, to set a new career-high of 38 points, and cut the Fever’s deficit to just one at 100-99. After Flau’jae scored from an offensive rebound. Clark fed the ball to Billings, who scored and was fouled by Fam. She tied the game with her And-1 free throw.

Malonga had a chance to score, but rimmed off her shot. Flau’jae then had a huge steal, and it looked like she’d beat Clark to the rim for the easy layup, but Caitlin managed to swipe the ball off Johnson’s foot, turning the ball back to Indiana. Then Clark buried a deep three-pointer with 39 seconds to go in the game. That would put the Fever ahead for good.

Hiedeman was fouled but missed a crucial free throw. Dom Malonga scored two more inside in the final seconds, but Seattle needed a three-pointer to tie and didn’t get it. Clark was sent to the foul line one last time and buried both to set her new career-high at 45 points. With three seconds left in the game and no timeouts, Hiedeman was forced to throw up a shot from halfcourt, which didn’t go in. The Fever survived 110-107.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (6-21) finally return home after their 5-game road trip. Upon their return, they will face the Minnesota Lynx (19-6) in back-to-back games. The first game is on Monday, July 20th, at 7:00 p.m.

Notes:
Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources!

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