NEW YORK — Breanna Stewart scored 24 points to lead a balanced New York offense as the Liberty beat Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 91-80 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd.
It was the second consecutive meeting between the teams who finished off a home and home set. Indiana lost on Thursday by 36 points, but was more competitive in this one thanks to a strong effort by Clark.
She finished with 22 points — the most in her young pro career — to go with eight assists and six rebounds. She also had eight turnovers.
The No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft came into the game averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the Fever (0-3).
This was Clark’s first time playing in New York (3-0) as Iowa never played in the city nor did she when she was in high school or with her AAU team.
“This arena is amazing. It’ll be fun for me to go around to all the new WNBA arenas and kind of check off the box,” Clark said. “This is certainly one that’s definitely up there. I know the crowd will be incredible tonight, so just enjoy it.”
Clark brought out a bunch of sports celebrities to the game including Billie Jean King, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West and Dawn Staley. Actor Jason Sudeikis, who went to a few of Clark's games in college was also in attendance.
The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer gave them a lot to watch in the first quarter. She looked comfortable scoring 10 points, hitting four of her five shots in the period. Clark, who only had nine points in the matchup between the teams on Thursday, also hit a logo 3-pointer just after a foul was called.
The play went to review and it was deemed the shot came after the foul so the deep 3 didn't count.
Despite the strong opening effort, Indiana trailed 33-22 after one quarter and was down 57-37 at the half. New York shot 56% in the first half, including hitting 12 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.
It didn't get much better in the second half as the Liberty kept shooting well and hitting 3s. All five of New York's starters hit at least two 3-pointers in the game. Indiana never got the game within single digits, however Clark did wow the crowd hitting two deep 3-pointers that drew oohs and aahs.
UP NEXT
Fever: returns home to host the Connecticut Sun on Monday night.
Liberty: hosts Seattle on Monday night.
New York 91, Indiana 80
INDIANA (80) — Samuelson 2-9 2-2 7, Smith 5-10 1-2 11, Boston 5-10 2-2 12, Clark 9-17 0-0 22, Mitchell 7-18 0-0 17, Fagbenle 4-8 0-0 8, Hull 0-0 0-0 0, Wallace 1-5 0-0 3, Wheeler 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 33-80 5-6 80.
NEW YORK (91) — Laney-Hamilton 5-10 0-1 13, Stewart 7-14 8-8 24, Jones 5-6 2-2 14, Ionescu 4-11 0-0 12, Vandersloot 4-8 0-0 10, Fiebich 2-4 0-0 5, Thornton 0-2 3-4 3, Burke 0-3 0-0 0, Sabally 3-4 1-1 7, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Dojkic 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 31-64 14-16 91.
Indiana 22 15 21 22 — 80
New York 33 24 16 18 — 91
3-Point Goals—Indiana 9-26 (Clark 4-10, Mitchell 3-8, Samuelson 1-3, Wallace 1-3, Fagbenle 0-1, Smith 0-1), New York 15-32 (Ionescu 4-9, Laney-Hamilton 3-5, Jones 2-2, Stewart 2-3, Vandersloot 2-5, Dojkic 1-2, Fiebich 1-3, Burke 0-1, Thornton 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Indiana 34 (Smith 8), New York 32 (Jones 12). Assists—Indiana 22 (Clark 8), New York 21 (Ionescu, Jones, Vandersloot 5). Total Fouls—Indiana 16, New York 14. A—17,735 (17,732).
