sport news WNBA star Caitlin Clark makes long-awaited home debut for Fever in front of a ... trends now
Nearly a month after she was selected by the Fever with the first pick in the WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark made her highly-awaited home debut for the Indiana Fever.
After unsurprisingly getting a louder-than-usual reception at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Clark got her first professional victory as the Fever won 83-80 over the Atlanta Dream.
Clark impressed her home fans with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a block in 32 minutes of play. The former Iowa star did so while shooting 4-for-12 from the field and 2-for-9 from three-point range.
'It was a lot of fun, I thought they were loud, I thought they were into it. It was fun to see,' Clark said following her home debut. 'This is a preseason game on a Thursday night and there's 13,000 people here.
'I think that just shows you what it's going to be like for us all season,' she added. 'It's going to help us.'
No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark scored 12 points in a 83-80 win in her first WNBA game in Indiana
The crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse welcomed Clark with loud cheers in her first home game
The crowd certainly made a difference Thursday as Clark helped the Fever rally from an early double-digit deficit following last week's preseason opening loss at Dallas.
One girl held a sign that read 'Welcome to Indy Caitlin! - Caitlin M.'
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Officially, the attendance came in at 13,028 - nearly three times larger than the slightly more than 4,000 per game Indiana averaged for its 20 regular-season home games in 2023. Afterward, Clark found close friend and former college teammate Gabbie Marshall and the two took a photo together.
Most of the fans came to see Clark - even for a rescheduled contest.
Indiana was initially scheduled to play Friday but moved the game when the NBA announced the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks would play Game 3 of their best-of-seven series in that time slot.
For Clark, the WNBA's overall No. 1 draft pick, it's been a quick transition from playing college ball a month ago to the pro style. And this game didn't come with as much pomp and circumstance as might have been expected.
Clark
