As Caitlin Clark prepared to return from a five- game injury absence on Saturday, she was – it turns out – needlessly cautious.
She spoke beforehand about giving herself ‘grace’ as she returned from her quad problem. After all, it was the first time she’d been sidelined since high school, and she hadn’t played in three weeks.
‘You know, maybe shake off some rust and figure some things out, and just get back into the flow of it,’ she told reporters.
That plan proved to be completely, almost laughably hypothetical as Clark got right back to her very best in front of a packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, scoring 32 points in a 102-88 win to knock off the defending champions.
If there was any sign at all of the time she’d spent away, perhaps it was the sight of her huffing and puffing after the conclusion of the first quarter.
Crucially, though, that fatigue came after she buried three-pointers on three consecutive possessions, sticking out her tongue in celebration as she dragged her team back in the game. Now that was the Clark we remembered.
Caitlin Clark made an incredible return to the Fever on Saturday as they got the win at home
She looked back to her very best after missing three weeks with a quad strain
The reigning Rookie of the Year may still be getting her legs and lungs under her, but fans were treated to the full Clark experience on Saturday.
Her playmaking, as she threaded the needle to Kelsey Mitchell for her first assist of the game. Her brashness, as she earned herself a technical foul for jawing at the refs in the second quarter.
And especially her absurd shooting range, as she ended the afternoon with seven triples. As she came down from her quick nine-point burst in the first half, she pulled up not far in front of midcourt. The shot missed, but it was hard not to feel it was a justified heat check with how she was playing.
It took a little bit for Clark to get going, but this crowd – many of whom descended upon the area around the arena a couple of hours before – were happy to be patient.
The Liberty raced out to 17-6 lead as Sabrina Ionescu was the most impressive guard on the court in the early stages.
Yet it wasn’t too long before Clark, who only scored her second field goal with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter, got going.
Things rapidly shifted in the next few minutes. Clark ended the period with 14 points, the Fever found themselves down just two and the Fever fans were on their feet.
The offense kept humming from there, as Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell had productive first halves too, while Clark ended the half with a fairly astonishing 25. And she wasn’t done just yet.
Ionescu awoke again to begin the third quarter, scoring a quick five points. A pair of free throws from Nastaha Cloud (after a bucket a couple of minutes before) then flipped the advantage to a six-point lead for the visitors to briefly quiet an enthusiastic daytime crowd.
But Clark and her teammates weren’t about to let the Liberty spoil her return.
The former Iowa star continued getting to her spots at will, Aaliyah Boston helped with some makes inside and the Liberty – without key starter Jonquel Jones – struggled to keep up with what looked a high-octane Fever offense as the lead stretched to as much as 13 in the third quarter.
Clark showed a rare bit of mortality towards the end of the third quarter when she missed a pair of free throws.
Coupled with several turnovers in the fourth quarter – one sequence saw her cough up the ball on consecutive possessions – the Liberty were given the chance to stick around. They obliged (if only for a bit) as the lead shrunk to four before Boston and Mitchell made some big plays with Clark getting a breather.
She checked into the game for the final time with 3:43 left and an 11-point lead, and put any chances of an already-improbable Liberty comeback to bed with a couple of nifty assists.
Before the win, Clark said that it ‘almost feels like the start of the season’ given that she only played four games before getting hurt.
There can’t be any doubt after this stunning performance that she’s in midseason form.
