Clark made history on Thursday, surpassing the record for the fastest WNBA player to achieve 300 career points, 100 rebounds, and 100 steals. She accomplished this feat in her 19th game, beating the previous record of 22 games. Among rookies straight out of college, the previous record was held by Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, who achieved it in 27 games.
Despite Clark’s record-breaking versatility, she and the Indiana Fever have had a challenging start. They faced a tough schedule in the beginning of her pro career, with only two of their first 11 games against teams with records of .500 or worse. This was more games than any other WNBA team had played at that point. As a result, the Fever started with a 2-9 record, and Clark had a season-low of three points in the last game of that stretch.
However, as Indiana’s schedule has become more balanced in terms of opponent quality and allowed the team more practice time, the Fever won four consecutive games for the first time 2015. Currently, if the regular season ended today, Indiana (8-12) would qualify for the playoffs as one of the top eight teams. Clark’s performance has also improved, averaging 16.8 points, 7.6 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in her last nine games.
Looking ahead to the second half of her rookie season, it is crucial to analyze Clark’s pick-and-roll game. This aspect of her game is vital for generating efficient offense and is key to her development as a WNBA player. As of now, it is already a significant factor in her rookie season success.
As Clark and the Indiana Fever prepare for their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Aces, it is worthwhile to examine the numbers and identify areas where she can continue to improve throughout the rest of the season and beyond.
