Caitlin Clark, new record as WNBA attendance figures hit new highs

The Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky 83-91 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Sunday to record their second win over Teresa Weatherspoon’s team in little over a fortnight. It brought up Indiana’s fifth win of the season and leaves the team eighth in the overall standings (5-10).

Caitlin Clark sinks 20+ points for the seventh time this season

Caitlin Clark contributed 23 points, and added eight rebounds, nine assists and two blocks to finish as the Fever’s top scorer on the night. The 22-year-old is averaging a team-high of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Caitlin also became the the fastest player in league history to reach 200 points, 75 rebounds and 75 assists - achieving the feat in her first 15 games. The previous record (16) was held by Shannon Johnson who obliterated several franchise records for the Orlando Miracle during their debut season in 1999.

It’s the latest landmark registry for the Fever guard, who became the first rookie since Breanna Stewart in 2016 to score at least 15 points, five assists and five rebounds in five games - Caitlin has registered 20+ points in seven games already during the regular season. Last week against the Washington Mystics, she equaled the WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers in one game, pinging in seven from 13 at Capitol One Arena. With that, she ties with Crystal Robinson, the first to sink seven 3s in one game with the New York Liberty in 1999.

She finished the 85-83 win over the Mystics with 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks - the first rookie in WNBA history to record such a stat line and the fourth player to do so in league history.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA records

It took the Fever’s rookie sensation just eight games to write her name into the WNBA record books, becoming the fastest rookie to hit three figures and 50 assists. All of that on top of the NCAA records and firsts she has to her name.

Looking back over Sunday’s win, Caitlin told reporters that what pleased her most was that it was the product of a great collective team performance. “I felt good. I thought I was moving well, taking good shots, took care of the ball. But overall, just as a team, we moved the ball really good - obviously the balance scoring shows that: Lyss 6-10, 9-13 AB, Kel 7-13... that’s really good,” she explained. “So taking good shots and helping our team mates get good shots I think was the key. Like I say, we were moving the ball well. Once we gave it up people were getting in back in the half court. I thought we were really out of the ball screen action - AB made some really good reads - 23 assists on 15 turnovers is pretty good. It shows the great shots that we got and that led to a really great percentage”.

Caitlin Clark thrilled as WNBA games set new attendance records

A capacity crowd of 17,274 filled Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch Sunday’s game - the fifth time that the arena has sold out this season. In fact, only two games have not been at full capacity - and not by very much. The matchup against the Atlanta Dream drew a crowd of 16,651 and the Los Angeles Sparks’ visit brought in 16,013. The Fever’s average attendance is 16,683.14 - a remarkable figure.

While approximately 400,000 fans attended WNBA games since the season tipped off through the end of May, Clark was asked how she feels seeing women’s basketball drawing record-breaking crowds.

“I think it’s really cool,” she said. “I was somebody that grew up loving women’s athletics, whether it was soccer, or basketball... whatever it was, I always had it on, I always wanted to support it. I think it just shows, when given an opportunity, women’s sports are certainly an amazing thing, fun to watch. They’re only on the rise. People are finally starting to realize how great of a product that can be shown, they’re given an opportunity to play on national television - or play in big stadiums where people can buy tickets and get to see it.

“I think once people come and watch one time, they can’t get enough of it and they continue to come back. To be a small part of that is super fun. As I say we get to play in front of a sell-out crowd of 17,000 people and that’s not something that you ever take for granted. The crowd... that energy just helps us and allows us to thrive off of it - it’s one of the coolest parts of our job!”