Caitlin Clark Hit A Dagger Three To Give The Fever Their First Win Over The Sparks

Friday night was a big matchup of top rookies in Los Angeles, as Caitlin Clark and the Fever arrived at a packed Staples Center to face the Sparks with fellow top-4 picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.

In the first half, it looked like Indiana would drop their sixth straight to open the season, as Jackson (16 points) and Dearica Hamby (18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) led L.A. in scoring and Brink (15 points, nine rebounds) provided the rim protection as the Sparks took an 11-point halftime advantage.

The Fever would claw their way back into the game in the second half behind strong nights from Aliyah Boston (17 points), Kelsey Mitchell (17 points), and Temi Fagbenle (18 points), making up for another rough shooting night from Clark.

The top pick missed her first seven threes but was able to make a positive impact with her passing and rebounding, as her teammates picked up the scoring slack around her. However, as the Sparks, led by a late push from Brink, tried to close the gap, Clark (11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) found her stroke and hit a pair of huge threes in the final three minutes to turn a three-point lead and turn it into a six-point advantage.

Clark’s timely buckets lifted the Fever to a 78-73 win and finally got them in the win column. It was another game of ups and downs for Clark, who continues adapting to the WNBA game, but her last two shots were evidence that her confidence hasn’t been diminished in the slightest by early season struggles.

The Sparks just didn’t get quite enough around their top trio, and thanks to a balanced effort from the team and some late heroics from their young star, the Fever can remove the weight of wondering when they’ll finally win before traveling to Las Vegas on Saturday.