For the first time in her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark hit a game-winning shot on Monday against the Washington Mystics. Clark gave the Indiana Fever a 78-76 win at the CareFirst Arena after hitting a long 3-point shot with less than two seconds left in the game.
With the Fever down by one with 4.3 seconds remaining, Clark had a wide-open shot after Mystics rookie Cotie McMahon went for the steal. She was far from the arc, but she still managed to hit the shot to give the Fever the two-point advantage.
They got the stop at the other end to improve to 6-5 for the season and 2-1 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Clark finished with 19 points, three rebounds and five assists on 7-for-16 shooting. Kelsey Mitchell had 15 points, two rebounds and three assists, while Aliyah Boston added 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Michaela Onyenwere led the Mystics in scoring with 17 points. Sonia Citron and Georgia Amoore each scored 12 points, while Kiki Iriafen suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Caitlin Clark Shares Honest Reaction to Game-Winner
Speaking to reporters after the game, Caitlin Clark shared her thoughts and reaction to her first-ever game-winning shot in the WNBA. Clark was surprised how wide-open she was, crediting Cotie McMahon for nearly stealing the ball from the inbound pass.
“Cotie almost got a fingertip on it,” Clark said, via Grant Afseth of Roundtable.io. “It kind of worked out perfectly that she went for the steal. Honestly, probably the most wide-open shot I had all night. My hands got a little clammy, but still went in, I guess.
Clark added that she told herself that she had to make the game-winning shot since her teammates did their jobs in practice and during the game. It was up to her to bounce back after missing free throws down the stretch.
“You better make this because I missed my free throws,” Clark said. “All those plays are plays we work on after practice, so everybody knows their role, everybody knows what they’re going to do.”
The Fever evened the regular-season series against the Mystics 1-1. The Mystics outlasted the Fever in overtime back on May 15. They face each other one more time on September 20 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Caitlin Clark Responds to Criticism About Her On-Court Behavior
Amid her struggles this season, Caitlin Clark has been called out by some fans and analysts for her on-court behavior toward referees and calls. Clark’s sideline incident with Stephanie White last week didn’t do any good, but the Indiana Fever star has a message for those wanting her to calm down on the court.
“I don’t think I would be as good of a player if I was very stoic and straight-faced all the time,” Clark said, via Christine Brennan of USA Today. “I think you always want your mind to be neutral, but you also want to be excited and passionate and fiery and feisty.”
Clark has been in foul trouble at times this season. She seemed to be a step slower, and her having a back issue since last month doesn’t help. She’s also coming off an injury-plagued second season.
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