Caitlin Clark reveals exactly how she celebrated making the playoffs in her rookie WNBA season… and the answer may surprise you
WNBA Rookie of the Year favorite Caitlin Clark reached an important milestone in her budding career this week when her Indiana Fever booked their first playoff berth since 2016.
The team didn’t play Tuesday, but qualified for the 2024 playoffs by virtue of Phoenix’s 74-66 win over Atlanta and Las Vegas’ 90-1 victory against Chicago.
‘I stay up late, so it’s not really unusual,’ Clark said Wednesday when asked if she watched the games. ‘But yeah, I was up. I did see it.’
And that’s when the party started, right?
‘My reaction was I turned [off the TV] and went to sleep,’ the 22-year-old Iowa native said. ‘I didn’t even check my phone until the next morning.’
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WNBA Rookie of the Year favorite Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever have qualified for the playoffs
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Clark certainly cares about the playoffs, but as she told reports this week, the postseason isn’t the goal for this team.
‘It’s definitely a big moment for this place, but at the same time I came in with the expectation that this was what was going to happen,’ Clark said. ‘For me, this isn’t like, a party. Yeah it’s great, I feel it’s a great accomplishment but there is so much more left to be done.’
Clark is coming off her second career triple-double after posting 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in a 93-86 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. And in doing so, Clark helped lead the Fever (18-16) to their fifth straight win and their ninth victory in the past 11 games.
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Next up for Indiana is Minnesota (24-9) – a team that also likes its chances as the postseason approaches. The Lynx are coming off a 79-74 home win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, which marked their eighth win in nine games.
Lynx guard Courtney Williams said she and her teammates know they are in for a difficult stretch in the regular season’s final month. In addition to facing the Fever, Minnesota will play Washington, Atlanta, New York and Connecticut on the road and they will tip off against Chicago and Los Angeles at home.
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Next up for Indiana: (from left) Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton and the Lynx
‘We want to go into the postseason playing our best basketball,’ Williams said. ‘That’s our focus, getting back to what made us a top team.’
Napheesa Collier leads the Lynx in averaging 20.4 points and 9.8 rebounds in 28 games this season. Kayla McBride is averaging 15.9 points per game, and Williams ranks third with 11 points per game to go along with a team-high 5.4 assists.
Kelsey Mitchell leads the Fever in scoring with 19.0 points per game. Clark has tallied 18.9 points to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 8.4 assists. Aliyah Boston rounds out the top three scorers with 13.7 points and a team-high 9.1 rebounds.
This will be the third game of the regular season between the Fever and Lynx. Indiana won the first matchup 81-74 at Minnesota on July 14, with the Fever’s Mitchell leading all scorers with 21 points. The Lynx bounced back with a 90-80 win at home on Aug. 24, with Collier scoring 31 to lead the way.
Indiana is 10-5 at home this season. Minnesota is 9-6 on the road.
