WASHINGTON — Caitlin Clark’s feet (nearly) graced a new logo with a go-ahead, game-winning shot Monday night.
That of the Commissioner’s Cup.
She was just in front of the cup itself, emblazoned on the CareFirst Arena floor, when she rose for a 3-pointer way back from the left wing with 3.3 seconds remaining and her Indiana Fever down 76-75 to the Washington Mystics. A 2-1 Cup record was on the line for both squads.
Mystics rookie Cotie McMahon had nearly grabbed the inbounds pass intended for Clark
but was a second late and her gamble gave Clark time to calmly unleash the deep trey.
It was a perfect swish, giving Indiana the lead with 1.2 ticks left on the clock, and the Fever would hold on to secure a much-needed win, 78-76.
It was Clark’s first go-ahead, game-winner in the WNBA (Commissioner’s Cup game or otherwise).
She was all smiles afterward, offering:
All those plays are plays we work on after practice. So everybody knows their role, everybody knows what they’re gonna do. And a lot of the time the credit doesn’t go to the person inbounding the ball, like that was a tough pass, skip pass from Sophie (Cunningham) on the ball, across the court. And Cotie almost got a fingertip on it, kind of worked out perfectly that she went for the steal. And it was honestly probably the most wide-open shot I had all night. So my hands got a little clammy, but still went in I guess.
The Fever led by as many as 17 points, while the Mystics’ largest lead was two. Yet, Washington kept fighting and was in it in the end.
Georgia Amoore finally showed at the WNBA level how dangerous she is from downtown, going 4-for-4, all in the second half. Then, a 7-0 Washington run began at the 2:11 mark of the fourth when Michaela Onyenwere buried a triple from the left wing, her third of a 3-for-4 effort. Two free throws from Onyenwere and a Shakira Austin layup later, the Mystics were up 74-73.
Clark went 0-for-2 at the line with 36 seconds to go, but, after an Aliyah Boston steal, made a nice pass in transition to Kelsey Mitchell, who accomplished the difficult task of slowing down enough to make a layup that put the Fever back on top 75-74 with 11.3 remaining.
Mystics star Sonia Citron got herself to the line and made two free throws that made it 76-75 Mystics at 4.3 seconds, putting the pressure back on Clark for missing her freebies, but Clark was able to deliver the first signature clutch moment of her WNBA career.
The Fever (6-5) avoided a colossal collapse, a losing record in both the overall standings and the Commissioner’s Cup, and undoubtedly more dramatic toxicity on the internet about Clark’s supposed disappointing, distracting play.
When head coach Stephanie White was asked about the potential for this moment to quiet the noise and provide a huge momentum boost, here’s how she responded:
I don’t know that the noise is ever going to be quiet. You know, this is what Caitlin does. She makes big shots, and she has big moments.
I think when you have a player like her, it’s very easy for people to just take it for granted and to think that everything that she does is always going to be easy and flawless and she’s just going to step up and she’s going to do it every time.
It’s, No. 1, a lot of work that she puts in. No. 2, it’s been a rough go over the last 18 to 24 months for her. And so she’s finding her way. And every opportunity that she gets to hit a shot like that or to get a stop—she got a big defensive stop for us—(or) to get a pass like she did to Kelsey, is an opportunity to continue to feel more and more like herself and grow that confidence back.
I say this often—I think sometimes we take great players and certainly generational talent for granted. And what she did was incredible for us. She’s gonna have many more moments like that, I know she is. And we needed this one tonight.
Clark finished with a game-high 19 points on 4-for-10 from 3 and 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from the field, adding five assists, three boards and a steal. In 10 games this season, it was her fourth time shooting better than 40 percent from three.
She made a sidestep 3 and a stepback 3 in the first quarter, and then, to give the Fever their 17-point lead early in the third, walked into a wideopen 3 from not too far behind the arc, cashing in on a four-point play when a late closeout from Cass Prosper led to a foul.
Even by Clark’s lofty standards, it was a nice quartet of treys (punctuated, of course, by the game winner) that indicated the Caitlin Clark experience is indeed alive and well, and just getting started.
Boston notched 14 points, 10 rebounds, three helpers, two swipes and two blocks, while Mitchell was good for 15 points and three dimes. Lexie Hull added a key 2-for-2 effort from long range and was 3-for-3 from the field.
The Fever’s first-half defense is something to be proud of
The Fever entered middle of the pack (No. 7) in the WNBA with a defensive rating of 105.2. Their opponent field goal percentage was 44.7 percent (No. 8), and their opponent 3-point clip was 30.8 (No. 4).
After the first half, they were on track to shatter their 2026 season’s previous scoring low for an opponent. They had allowed just 29 points (on pace for 58); their best coming in was the 71 they surrendered to the Dream on June 4. They had held Washington to 35 percent efficiency from the floor and just two 3s.
But the Mystics made seven 3s in the second half (at 58 percent) en route to 47 points. Their total for the game of 76 is still lower than the best points allowed average in the WNBA of 78.4 (Lynx), but Indiana has some things to clean up from the latter part of the contest.
Indy also survived their persistent foul trouble problem
Meanwhile, avoiding putting Washington at the stripe was a big emphasis coming in, as Indiana was coming off surrendering 40 free throw attempts in their Saturday loss to the Liberty.
In the end, the Fever allowed 24 free tries on Monday, which led to a seven-point disadvantage in the scoring column. It was an improvement, but still above the league average of 21.8 attempts allowed per game. On the season, Indiana sends teams to the line second most in the W (26 times per contest, behind only the Mystics).
The real problem wasn’t necessarily that Washington was getting easy points at the line as much as it was the Fever having to sit their best players, or asking them play carefully as they dealt with foul trouble.
Two fouls in the first quarter is never good, and that’s what Clark was looking at after unfortunately picking up her second right before the end of the opening frame. That put her on the sideline to start the second quarter, and then shortly after she came back in, she picked up a third. She ended up playing just 2:49 in the period.
Fortunately, she didn’t commit any other fouls over the remainder of the game and played 9:31 in the first, all 10 minutes of the third and 8:30 in the fourth. That’s a pretty fantastic job of managing foul trouble, and she was able to be the hero of the game in the end.
Here’s what Clark had to say when asked if it was hard to stay in a rhythm after sitting out much of the second quarter:
I mean no player ever wants to be in foul trouble. I think it’s just like a mental challenge more than anything. Especially (since) I started the first quarter really well … but I thought my teammates did a really great job there in the second quarter, built us a lead, got stops. … I think you just find a way to keep battling and keep persevering. And, you know, not everything in the second half was perfect either, but just kinda keep pushing through and try to make plays when it matters down the stretch.
Boston picked up five fouls for the third-straight game, but again avoided fouling out. She committed her third and fourth fouls 50 seconds apart in the third and her fifth at the end of the frame, making things very interesting in a seven-point game entering the fourth.
But Aliyah was still able to play 5:01 in the final frame and went on a key 4-0 individual run that took the score to 73-67 Fever with 2:58 remaining.
Monique Billings, who stepped up with 15 points and eight boards in 35 minutes against the Liberty, was charged with her fifth foul at the 8:37 mark of the fourth, but, still, the Fever survived.
