After a lengthy period where her time at Iowa led directly into her WNBA rookie season, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever crashed out of the playoffs on Wednesday night.
The Connecticut Sun advanced to the WNBA semifinals with a 87-81 victory over the Fever, stopping Clark from an active basketball season for the first time in nearly a year.
The Sun led by nine to start the fourth quarter, but two tough Clark baskets got the fever back into the game and let Indiana momentarily take the lead.
Clark’s history-making ways continued, as she became the first player in WNBA history to have 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game.
Clark played for the entire game, finishing with that 25-point total and adding nine assists and six rebounds.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie season is over as the Fever crashed out of the playoffs Wednesday
Clark will have time off from basketball for the first time in nearly a year after the defeat
Connecticut advance to face the winner of the Minnesota Lynx versus Phoenix Mercury series.
The second-seeded Lynx have a 1-0 series advantage and would have home-court advantage in a semifinals matchup against the Sun.
This will be the sixth straight semifinals appearance for the Sun, while the Fever made the postseason for the first time since 2016 in Clark’s first professional season.
Clark led the revival for the Fever, who had only won double-digit games in a season twice from 2017-2023.
Clark will now get a chance to take time off from basketball, with her next move unclear until the WNBA begins next season in the spring.
She likely has a standing offer to play in the new Unrivaled league which begins play early next year.
Clark should also draw attention from international teams hoping to attain her services for several months, like many of the elite WNBA players have done in the past.
Five different Sun players reached double-digit scoring, with each of the seven to take the floor each scoring eight points or more.
Clark got into an argument with a fan sat courtside during a heated moment on Wednesday
Clark shoved Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner during the WNBA playoff matchup
Leading the way for Connecticut was Alyssa Thomas with 19 points and Marina Mabrey with 17.
The other semifinal sees the top-seeded New York Liberty face the defending-champion Las Vegas Aces.
Clark arrived for the Fever’s make-or-break playoff game wearing $1,700 worth of Prada items.
And as she made her way into Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena, the 22-year-old boasted her new Prada purchases ahead of her most crucial night in professional basketball so far.
Clark, who was named WNBA Rookie of the Year at the weekend after her sensational debut campaign for the Fever, was seen boasting black sunglasses from the luxury Italian designer worth around $500.
With Indiana teammate Lexie Hull by her side, she walked into the arena wearing black leather slingback pumps valued at $1,200.
During the opening minutes of Sun-Fever, Clark got into an altercation with DeWanna Bonner, with her later getting into a spat with a fan.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk