WASHINGTON — After some much-needed rest, the Fever have gotten back into the win column. Indiana beat the Washington Mystics 85-83 on the road on Friday night.
The Fever took a two-point lead into halftime and were neck and neck with Washington for the entire second half. First overall pick Caitlin Clark proved to be the difference-maker.
Clark tied her WNBA career high with 30 points while also adding eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. She also shot 7-of-13 from behind the arc.
The No. 22 was impossible to miss at Capital One Arena on Friday night, and that doesn’t even include the one on the basketball court. The digits were printed on black Iowa shirts and yellow Hawkeyes jerseys. They were featured on blue-and-yellow Indiana Fever jerseys and shirts. There were even three red T-shirts that had the number emblazoned in big white numerals.
The Caitlin Clark show arrived in D.C., and the masses descended to see the phenom who was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff sat courtside next to Washington Mystics owners Sheila Johnson and Ted Leonsis. LSU Coach Kim Mulkey was back for the second consecutive night. Bootsy Collins performed at halftime. A bunch of Washington Wizards were in attendance.
The quick and low-key introductions that visiting teams receive did not escape the attention of the late-arriving crowd, which roared with the announcement of Clark’s name. She did not disappoint any of those folks — except the true Mystics fans — as she matched her career high with 30 points for the Fever, which held on for an 85-83 victory. The game was held at Capital One Arena for a second consecutive night, but this one had every seat available, and the final announced crowd of 20,333 was the highest for any WNBA game since 2007 and the fifth highest for a regular season game in league history.
“I try to look around and take it in,” Clark said. “Every place is new. It’s a great environment. Every place is unique. But also this is my first year in the [WNBA], so it has a little extra sentiment to it that I really appreciate. And that’ll be something I remember for my entire career.
“I try to look around before the tip and just take in the environment. I did the same thing in college because these environments are really special and it’s cool to see how many people show up for women’s basketball and are so excited to be here.”
The Fever’s road trip continues on Monday evening when they visit the Connecticut Sun.