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Caitlin Clark makes more WNBA history in front of record crowd as Indiana Fever defeat Atlanta Dream
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Caitlin Clark makes more WNBA history in front of record crowd as Indiana Fever defeat Atlanta Dream



CNN

It’s becoming more and more common to see Caitlin Clark making history.

The WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick in 2024 recorded her 21st game of the season with at least 15 points and five assists in the Indiana Fever’s 84-79 win over the Atlanta Dream on Monday, the most of any player in WNBA history.

Clark had 19 points and seven assists, along with seven rebounds, two steals and a block. She also made four 3-pointers to bring her season total to 85, tying the rookie record set by the Dream’s Rhyne Howard in 2022.

17,608 fans packed the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena as the Dream set a record for the highest attendance for a WNBA game in Georgia. It was the fifth time this season that a team’s attendance record was broken by the Fever.

After the game, Clark spoke about the rise of the women’s basketball team over the course of the year.

Clark shoots from the three-point line during the game.

“I feel like I’m just a kid playing basketball and having fun,” she said. “And for me, when I go into these arenas and environments, I look around and it’s unbelievable. It really is.

“I don’t show up and expect this crowd. Sure, maybe you get used to it a little bit, but for me, it’s not something that ever gets old. It’s something that’s really cool, especially as a young girl who grew up going to games. If I was a young girl, I would have gone to a game in a building like this and seen this kind of crowd, I think I would have been in heaven.

“It gives me a lot of joy to see the impact that I’ve been able to have, what my teammates have been able to have, what female basketball players across the country have been able to have,” she added.

Indiana comes to 14-16 with the win — third in the East and seventh overall in the league — meaning the team has already secured its most regular-season wins since 2016. Kelsey Mitchell collected a season-high 29 points to lead the team in scoring, her fourth straight game with at least 20 points, according to the Fever.

Mitchell drives to the basket during the game.

Aliyah Boston, named 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year, had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Damiris Dantas scored 11 points on 80% shooting in less than 10 minutes thanks to her sharp shooting.

Indiana opened the game on an 11-3 run and held on to the lead, building an 18-point lead with about seven minutes left in the third quarter. The Dream rallied to put pressure on the Fever later in the period, outscoring their opponents by six points in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved too great to overcome.

Atlanta – now 10-19 on the season – was led by Tina Charles with 28 points, while Howard (16), Allisha Gray (12) and Jordin Canada (10) all scored in double figures.