Caitlin Clark Posts Double-Double as Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty Rally Late to Beat Fever

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever fell to 2-2 on the season Saturday, losing 90-88 to the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty, who erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Fresh off her worst game of the season in an 81-76 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, Clark had her fair share of ups and downs Saturday, recording an 18-point, 10-assist double-double despite shooting 6-of-19 from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc, and committing 10 turnovers.

In defeat, Clark made history with the most 10-assist games ever by a player in their first two WNBA seasons, per StatMuse:

Aliyah Boston had the best showing for Indiana on Saturday, finishing with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting, while Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell each added 15 points.

Ultimately, the Fever couldn't overcome the Liberty's superstar trio of Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.

After leading the Liberty to their first championship in franchise history last season, the triumvirate was on top of its game Saturday with Ionescu registering 23 points, Stewart contributing 16 points and Jones adding 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Both teams had a sizzling offensive start in the first quarter, as New York led 30-29 after one.

Clark looked good early on, executing an old-fashioned three-point play and getting her teammates involved with some perfectly placed passes:

However, Ionescu's shooting stroke was in excellent form as well, knocking down triples on back-to-back possessions for the Liberty:

The Fever went cold in the second quarter, which allowed the Liberty to outscore them by eight points and extend their lead to 55-46 by halftime.

Although the momentum was on New York's side, Indiana completely turned the game around in the third, outscoring the Liberty by 17 points to take the lead.

Mitchell went on a scoring binge to close the gap, securing a steal and bucket to pull within two before knocking down a three to tie it:

At that point, Clark came to life after doing little in the second quarter, giving the Fever the lead with a layup, extending it with a four-point play and then nailing a trifecta at the buzzer to put Indiana up by eight entering the final frame:

Much like the Fever took over in the third quarter, the Liberty did the same in the fourth, going on a 16-2 run after Indiana had gotten the lead to 12.

Jones put an exclamation point on the comeback, hitting a three-ball to get back within one before drilling another to give the Liberty an 84-82 advantage with 4:52 left:

After forcing a miss with the game tied at 88-88 with 7.1 seconds remaining, Ionescu drew a foul on a shot with 2.9 seconds left and made both free throws.

Clark had a chance to tie or win it, but she was unable to get off a clean shot, and the Liberty prevailed in dramatic fashion:

By virtue of Saturday's win, the Liberty are 3-0 on the season, and there is little doubt that they are a major threat to repeat as WNBA champions.

Meanwhile, the sledding has been much tougher for the Fever since their 93-58 blowout win over the Chicago Sky to open the season last week.

Even so, the Fever are off to a much better start than last season when they began the 2024 campaign 0-5 and 1-8.

Despite that, Indiana ended up going 20-20, and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Fever will attempt to get back in the win column Wednesday when they go on the road to face the Washington Mystics, while the Liberty will look to keep their undefeated season alive Tuesday against the expansion Golden State Valkyries.