Caitlin Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double as the Indiana Fever rallied late to defeat the WNBA-best New York Liberty 83-78 at home on Saturday at Indianapolis.
The Fever (9-13) snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Liberty (17-4), earning their first win over New York since 2022.
New York appeared on the way to completing the season-series sweep after leading for a majority of the fourth quarter, until Indiana went on an 11-0 run in the closing minutes.
Lexie Hall topped the Indiana surge with a basket to give the Fever a 79-75 lead with 1:24 remaining in the game.
New York’s Sabrina Ionescu ended the run with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to a point, but the Liberty did not score over the final 1:08.
Clark led the Fever with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and two steals in her historic performance. Aliyah Boston had 18 points and eight rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith chipped in a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. Kelsey Mitchell had 14 points.
Ionescu had a game-high 22 points for New York. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 20 points, while Breanna Stewart finished with 14 points.
Ionescu had a shot at the game-tying 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds remaining, but the Fever were able to corral the miss and Mitchell converted two free throws to secure the win.
Indiana pounced on New York to start the game and led by as much as 12 points in the first quarter after a Clark 3-pointer. The Liberty outscored the Fever 20-15 in the second quarter, but Indiana clung onto a narrow 39-38 halftime lead.
The Liberty emerged from the halftime break with a renewed effort and pulled in front after a back-and-forth exchange to start the third quarter. They pushed their lead to as much as 11 points early in the fourth quarter and led 62-55 heading into the final period.
Indiana shot 47.8 percent from the floor the game and went 7 of 24 (29.2 percent) from 3-point range. The Fever outrebounded the Liberty 41-31.
New York shot 40.8 percent from the floor in the loss, and 10 of 42 (23.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
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