INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — In an 83-78 victory over New York on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Caitlin Clark recorded the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history and ended the Fever’s nine-game losing run against the Liberty.

For Indiana (9-13), Clark finished with 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds. The No. 1 choice in the WNBA draft almost avoided a triple-double in a road victory over the Phoenix Mercury two games prior, falling short by one rebound.

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It’s extremely cool, of course, added Clark. “My colleagues have been completing passes quite quickly. My help figures are a result of them.
Christie Sides, the coach of Indiana, was delighted with both Clark and the Fever’s 12 point fourth-quarter advantage over the Liberty.

After the game, she exclaimed, “Caitlin with a triple-double, my gosh, that’s incredible.” It’s important for us to keep New York to 16 points in the fourth quarter. That is the league’s top team.

In the first quarter, Clark scored 11 points, hitting three of his four three-point attempts. In the third quarter, she had more assists than double figures, and in the fourth, she had more than ten rebounds.

With 2:31 remaining, Clark made a three-point play and Kelsey Mitchell followed with another three-pointer to level the score at 75. After Mitchell stole the ball and scored, Aliyah Boston gave Indiana a two-point advantage. At 1:24, Lexie Hull made a reverse layup to extend the lead to 79-75.

Sabrina Ionescu of New York responded with a three-pointer, but she missed another opportunity to put the Liberty up. With 17 seconds remaining, Boston made two free throws, and Mitchell finished with two with 11 seconds left to seal the upset.

Out of 42 attempts, New York only made 10 from over the arc.

Boston declared, “We defended well the entire game.” “Those final moments, particularly those final few items, were really wonderful for us.”

Boston led the Fever with eight rebounds and eight points on eight of twelve shooting. Mitchell scored 14 points, going over 10 for the eighth time in a row. The second-round selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, NaLyssa Smith, scored 12 points and 11 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the year.

New York (17-4), which had won five straight games, was led by Ionescu’s 22 points. With four 3-pointers made, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton finished with 20 points. Six rebounds, six assists, and fourteen points were contributed by Breanna Stewart. In addition to six points and three steals, Jonquel Jones pulled down twelve rebounds.

The game started with an 8-0 run for Indiana thanks to baskets by Clark and a layup. With 3:04 remaining in the first, she converted a steal into a 3-point shot to give the Fever their largest lead, 24-12. With two seconds remaining, Laney-Hamilton made a jumper to bring New York within six points going into the second half.

There were 7:48 remaining in the second quarter when Clark made a reverse fadeaway jumper to give the Fever a 31-20 lead. The Liberty gained their first lead when Jones scored the final five points in a 12-0 run. After a 5:06 scoring drought, Smith responded with a layup to give Indiana the lead back.

Stewart, who this season has defeated the Fever three times on average with 22.7 points per game, sank two free throws in the closing seconds to pull New York to within 39-38 at the break.

With 4:39 remaining in the third quarter, New York led 57-50 after Laney-Hamilton struck a go-ahead jumper and Ionescu responded with a basket and a 3-pointer after Stewart stole the ball. With three seconds remaining, Laney-Hamilton made a pull-up jumper to give the Liberty a 62-55 lead heading into the fourth round.

Clark observed that the Fever are getting better at handling pressure when things don’t go their way.

“I believe the most significant distinction has been that we don’t falter when teams win big,” Clark remarked. “We managed to maintain our fortitude and somewhat narrow the distance.”

Sandy Brondello, the coach of New York, wasn’t pleased with the Liberty’s initial approach.

According to Brondello, “I didn’t think we came out with the necessary urgency to compete.” “In the previous ten games, they are 6-4. They performed better in the last moments than we did.

For the first time since winning 92-86 away from home on May 13, 2022, Indiana defeated New York. 50–41 is the Fever’s all-time series lead.