Indiana

Reality is coming? Fever star Caitlin Clark delivers in WNBA debut against Dallas Wings

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2024

Reality is coming? Fever star Caitlin Clark delivers in WNBA debut against Dallas Wings

ARLINGTON — ”Reality is coming.” That was the warning all-time WNBA great Diana Taurasi issued Caitlin Clark when she finished her college career as the all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s college basketball less than a month ago. The message was that Clark wouldn’t be facing 18-year-olds any longer.

”I’m here.” That was Clark’s announcement (she didn’t say it in words, just on the court) Friday night at College Park Center. In a preseason game against the Dallas Wings, in front of a packed house she was largely responsible for, Clark scored 21 points but missed a desperate three at the buzzer as the Dallas Wings won the exhibition game, 79-76.

Dallas‘ own Arike Ogunbowale, known for hitting big shots herself, drilled the winning 3-pointer with three seconds to play although she finished 1-for-7 from distance. Clark made 5 of her 13 three-point shots, scoring 16 points in the first half before running into foul trouble during the second in her pro debut.

As the first pick in the April 15 draft, Clark joined a team that was 24-84 the last three seasons. Suffice to say very few folks in Indiana had the Fever. But the basketball world loves watching Clark and she has a chance to rewrite everything, not just in her new midwestern home but for the women’s game across the board.

The Fever will have 36 of their 40 regular season games on national TV. This comes on the heels of Clark’s Iowa drawing 14.2 million viewers on ESPN for the national semifinal game with UConn and 19 million on network TV for the championship game with South Carolina.

If you’re the commissioner of anything besides the National Football League, you will kick your grandmother to the curb for those ratings. The women’s championship outdrew the men’s in April, not to mention the World Series or the NBA Finals overall. The WNBA is hoping to latch onto a piece of that through Clark, and her ticket-selling skills were on display in a sold-out College Park Center despite the fact sports fans could have watched the Mavs or Stars in playoff action.

On the Fever‘s second possession, Clark launched and hit a 3-pointer. By halftime she had 16 points, comprised almost entirely of four 3-pointers plus two free throws she made after being fouled from 3-point range. For those wondering, the 3-point line in the WNBA is the same distance as in college. Wouldn’t make much difference if it wasn’t as Clark has been known to launch from the logo and score.

But that’s not to say Taurasi was entirely wrong. Clark got her shot blocked by Natasha Howard, ran into foul trouble and committed five turnovers. It was the imperfect start one might expect when a great player joins a struggling team at a higher level. Dallas actually got 21 points from another rookie, left-handed Jaelyn Brown, who played for Cal in 2020 but has been overseas, most recently playing in Turkey.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (left) dribbles against Dallas Wings’ Sevgi Uzun during the second half of a preseason WNBA basketball game, on Friday, May 3, 2024, at College Park Center in Arlington. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

On Friday morning, Clark said she did not know what to expect in terms of scoring, beyond the promise she would play hard.

“I think the shooting is always going to be part of my game, and it’s something this team needs,” Clark said after the team’s shootaround. “There’s going to be nights you shoot it great and nights that you don’t. That happens to Steph Curry, that happens to me, that happens to anybody.

“Whether I make 10 threes tonight or I don’t make any, there are other aspects of the game where I can help the team.”

Turned out to be five — right in the middle between 10 and 0.

Clark also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and that assist figure when Indiana plays a team that doesn’t have the massive size advantage the Wings enjoy against just about everyone.

Indiana already has had two road games moved from smaller WNBA venues to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (where the Stars played Friday) and to Capital One Arena in Washington (home of the Wizards and Caps). There are no plans announced to move either of Clark’s regular season games against the Wings out of Arlington, although the team is moving to Dallas in two years. The Wings will play in the old (but presumably refurbished) Memorial Auditorium downtown. I’m personally anxious to see how it looks for Wings games compared to Dallas Chaparral games I attended in the late ‘60s.

OK, that’s been a minute.

By the time the Wings truly become the Dallas Wings, the WNBA will have a new TV deal worth probably twice as much or more than the current $60 million per season. That’s attributable to several factors, but Clark is, without any doubt, No. 1.

”The buzz around the WNBA right now is super special,” Clark said. “The competition in this league is really really good. I’m excited that people are appreciating the W. Just a great atmosphere for women’s basketball, I think it’s a good kickoff to the WNBA season.”

Well, everyone loves the long ball. And no female has ever shot from distance — considerable distance quite often — like Clark. Her fifth 3-pointer of the game, one that gave Indiana a 67-65 lead in the fourth quarter, came from at least 28 feet.

It was the last one she would make in this particular game. Many, many more to come very soon, though.

Wings-Fever photos: Caitlin Clark, Arike Ogunbowale ball out in WNBA preseason opener

Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Indiana

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Published

8 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.

The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.

Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”

Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.

Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.

The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.

Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.

“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

20 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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Indiana

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

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