Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA rookie assists record as Fever beat Storm 92-75
Seattle Storm's Jewell Loyd (24) has her shot blocked by Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark (22) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, in Indianapolis. Credit: AP/Darron Cummings
INDIANAPOLIS — Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points, Caitlin Clark added 23 points and nine assists, and Lexie Hull scored 12 of her career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter Sunday to help the Indiana Fever beat the Seattle Storm 92-75.
With 232 assists so far this season, Clark broke the previous WNBA rookie record of 224 by Ticha Penicheiro in 1998. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft has scored at least 20 points in five of her last six games. She is averaging 23.7 points on 47% shooting from the field, and 11.7 assists over that span.
Mitchell hit 10 of 19 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range, while Hull was 8-of-10 shooting and hit a career-best six 3s on seven attempts. Aliyah Boston grabbed 15 rebounds to go with nine points and a career-high eight assists for Indiana.
Jewell Loyd hit a jumper that cut the Storm's deficit to 61-60 with 9 minutes to play. Indiana's Damiris Dantas made a free throw about a minute later, Hull hit a pair of 3-pointers 35 seconds apart, and Mitchell added another from behind the arc before Boston hit a short jumper to cap a 14-5 spurt that made it 75-65 with 5:51 to go.
Skylar Diggins-Smith answered with consecutive buckets in the lane to make it a six-point game just 28 seconds later but Hull again hit back-to-back 3s — this time in a 31-second span — to spark a 15-2 run. Clark followed with another 3-pointer and then assisted on 3s by Mitchell and Dantas, the latter of which gave the Fever a 90-71 lead with 2:24 remaining.
Loyd led Seattle (17-10) with 26 points, Diggins-Smith scored 15 and Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. The trio combined to make just 20 of 54 from the field as the Storm shot just 38.9% (28 of 72) overall.
Indiana (13-15), which has matched its win total from the 2023 campaign with 12 games remaining in the regular season, has won back-to-back games coming out of the monthlong break for the Paris Olympics. The Fever have won four of five overall and 10-5 after winning just three of 11 games to open the season.
Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark (22) reacts in front of Seattle Storm's Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, in Indianapolis. Credit: AP/Darron Cummings
