Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA rookie assists record in Fever's 92-75 win over Storm
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Caitlin Clark scored 23 points and recorded nine assists to help the Indiana Fever beat the Seattle Storm 92-75 on Sunday.
With 232 assists so far this season, Clark broke the previous WNBA rookie record of 224 by Ticha Penicheiro in 1998. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft has scored at least 20 points in five of her last six games. She is averaging 23.7 points on 47% shooting from the field, and 11.7 assists over that span.
Kelsey Mitchell hit 10 of 19 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range to finish with 27 points, while Lexie Hull was 8-of-10 shooting and hit a career-best six 3s on seven attempts for a career-high 22 points. Aliyah Boston grabbed 15 rebounds to go with nine points and a career-high eight assists for Indiana.
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Jewell Loyd hit a jumper that cut the Storm's deficit to 61-60 with 9 minutes to play. Indiana's Damiris Dantas made a free throw about a minute later, Hull hit a pair of 3-pointers 35 seconds apart, and Mitchell added another from behind the arc before Boston hit a short jumper to cap a 14-5 spurt that made it 75-65 with 5:51 to go.
Skylar Diggins-Smith answered with consecutive buckets in the lane to make it a six-point game just 28 seconds later but Hull again hit back-to-back 3s — this time in a 31-second span — to spark a 15-2 run. Clark followed with another 3-pointer and then assisted on 3s by Mitchell and Dantas, the latter of which gave the Fever a 90-71 lead with 2:24 remaining.
Loyd led Seattle (17-10) with 26 points, Diggins-Smith scored 15 and Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. The trio combined to make just 20 of 54 from the field as the Storm shot just 38.9% (28 of 72) overall.
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Indiana (13-15), which has matched its win total from the 2023 campaign with 12 games remaining in the regular season, has won back-to-back games coming out of the monthlong break for the Paris Olympics. The Fever have won four of five overall and 10-5 after winning just three of 11 games to open the season.
Reporting by The Associated Press.