INDIA — In the Indiana Fever’s 78-74 loss to the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Friday night, rookie sensation Caitlin Clark shattered the WNBA single-season assist record.
At 4:55 in the second quarter, Clark received her 317th assist of the year when Kelsey Mitchell converted a pass into a score during a drive. The rookie surpassed previous season’s record of 316 dimes set by Alyssa Thomas. With nine assists in the game’s conclusion, Clark now has 321 assists for the season.
Two days prior to Clark’s accomplishment, MVP front-runner A’ja Wilson broke the record for most points scored in a season. Wilson, who put up 15 points on Friday night, is now 29 points away from becoming the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a season with 971 points.
Angel Reese, a rookie for the Chicago Sky, earlier this summer established a record for the most rebounds (446) in a single WNBA season. Wilson’s scoring (27.0) and Reese’s rebounding (13.1) averages are also on track to break league records. Clark leads the league in assists per game (8.4), but Courtney Vandersloot’s 2020 average of 10.0 looks certain to hold the record for most assists in a single season.
“I think it definitely speaks to the whole entire year and how historic it has been for this league and how great the basketball has been for the league, and we’re not even into the playoffs yet,” Clark stated. It’s going to keep breaking records, which is, in my opinion, what makes it so entertaining to watch. On top of that, I think the basketball is excellent.
The reason for the fans’ attendance is that. This year’s viewership has been completely flat. I believe that everyone is simply becoming more proficient. It’s exciting to compete in this league because every night you can expect the person on the opposite side of the court to be giving it their all, and that’s what makes it exciting. The competition is just going to grow better. Being a part of it has been incredibly enjoyable for me as well, and it’s been amazing to watch everyone truly step up and elevate.”
Clark has extended her WNBA record by leading her team in assists 34 times this season, according to ESPN Research. She has tied Vandersloot in 2021 for the second-longest streak in WNBA history with at least five assists in 25 straight games; Vandersloot owns the record with 40 straight during the 2018–19 season.
Clark’s first part of the speech was uneventful aside from the possible addition of a new award to her resume. She shot 0-for-5 from the field and was held scoreless. She also received her sixth technical penalty when, enraged by her defense-related foul, she struck the stanchion. She will receive a one-game suspension if she receives one more before the regular season ends.
With 18 points in the second half, she recovered. Mitchell scored 20 points in total, including 19 in the first half, to lead the squad.
Wilson recorded a career-high 17 rebounds in her 11th 15–15 game this season for the Aces. With her 21 points, point guard Chelsea Gray recorded her second 20-point performance of the year and her first since late June, when she was recovering from a foot ailment from 2023 that kept her out of the game until the start of 2024.
“I’ve been feeling like myself after the Olympic break,” Gray stated. “September and October are the months you should be playing your best basketball…. I just know that I put in the work, and I have faith in the process. I had to give myself over to the outcome, and I have been doing that, and it worked tonight.”
On Friday, Las Vegas had a 13-point lead, but with less than two minutes remaining, the Fever closed the gap to just two. With 56 seconds remaining, a 3-pointer from Kelsey Plum gave the Aces some breathing room.
But against Las Vegas, the Fever players and coach Christie Sides bemoaned how Indiana went just 11 for 20 at the free throw line and had lulls in the first and beginning of the third quarters.
Although Friday’s game was the closest of the four, following an 11-point setback on Wednesday, the Aces are the only team the Fever have not defeated this season. The consecutive defeats for Indiana were their first since late June.
We weren’t there when we played early in Vegas, and they got us,” Sides remarked. But for the time being, they have to genuinely think that we are with those individuals, and I think they do. All we need to do now is figure out how to stop these lulls from occurring. It was playoff basketball tonight, so you have to be careful not to give them the chance to take advantage of your frustration or the fact that things aren’t going our way and we give up several possessions. That is simply not possible with these outstanding squads.”
In the meantime, Las Vegas has won six of its last seven games, regaining its footing following a run of five losses in seven. In that time, it has only suffered one loss, to the top-seeded New York Liberty sans Wilson (ankle).
“For us, the only thing on our minds is the next game. When it comes to looking ahead, Plum stated, “We play Connecticut [on Sunday], one of the best teams in the league, super tough, and we have a tough remaining schedule.” “To be honest, we have to focus on what’s in front of us, taking one game at a time and whenever we get to the playoffs and we’ll lock in then.”
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