Caitlin Clark triple-double: Iowa basketball star, Fever rookie makes history vs. Liberty

Caitlin Clark spent her four years at Iowa rewriting the record books of Big Ten and Division I women’s basketball.

Now, she’s doing the same in the WNBA.

With 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in the Indiana Fever’s 83-78 victory Saturday against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double in a game.

REQUIRED READING: Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark gets WNBA’s first triple-double by a rookie

It’s also the first triple-double by any player in the 24-year history of the Fever, who selected Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Clark secured the triple-double with 7:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, when she pulled down her 10th rebound of the afternoon.

“I think everybody was a little confused as to why they were going to so nuts over rebound,” Clark said after the game, laughing. “I mean, they can do that every time, but this was a little different.”

The 13 assists and 12 rebounds both matched career highs. It’s the fourth time in the past five games that Clark has dished out at least 10 assists. The West Des Moines native entered the day third in the WNBA in assists per game, with 7.1.

Clark’s production helped the Fever rally from a 10-point deficit with 6:05 remaining to knock off the Liberty, who came into the matchup with the best record in the WNBA. The win was Indiana’s sixth in its past nine games, improving its record to 9-13 following a 1-8 start to the season. The Fever currently holds the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs.

For Clark, triple-doubles aren’t anything particularly new. She had 17 over the course of her four-year career at Iowa, where she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship games while ending her time in college as the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball.

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How many points did Caitlin Clark have today?

Clark finished with a team-high 19 points for the Fever.

She made seven of of 17 shots from the field and three of her 12 3-pointers.

Caitlin Clark stats

In 22 WNBA games, each of which she has started, Clark is averaging 16.1 points, 7.4 assists, six rebounds, 1.4 steals and 5.5 turnovers per game.

A prolific shooter throughout her career, Clark is making 39.3% of her field goals and 33.1% of her 3s this season.