Caitlin Clark scored the highest 21 points in the game, but Indiana Fever suffered defeat in the opening match of the WNBA exhibition.

DALLAS — Trailing by three points against the Dallas Wings with only three seconds remaining, Indiana already had a strategy: turn to Fever rookie standout Caitlin Clark.

The top pick, who led the Fever in scoring Friday evening, had encountered many of these late-game situations during her time at Iowa. However, this marked her first opportunity to do so as a professional. Battling against the aggressive defense of the Wings, Fever guard Lexie Hull struggled to inbound the ball to Clark. Instead, she managed to get it to Erica Wheeler, who swiftly passed it to Clark with less than a second remaining.

The shot, taken under pressure, missed its mark, resulting in the Fever’s first preseason loss to the Wings, 79-76. Nonetheless, Clark remained the standout performer.

Here are three observations from Caitlin Clark’s preseason WNBA debut:

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

In her first WNBA game, Clark already experienced something unique to professional basketball: a jump ball tip. Clark was triple-teamed by the Wings in the paint in an attempt to get the ball, and officials called for a jump between the 6-0 rookie and 6-7 WNBA veteran Teaira McCowan.
As it was called, Clark looked over at coach Christie Sides, shrugging her shoulders. As expected, too, she did not win the tip.

Shooting-wise Clark looked at home. There were some times where the increased physicality of the WNBA seemed to frustrate her, but she didn’t let her stop that from doing what she does best: 3-pointers.

Her first shot was a 3-pointer, and it went through the net to loud cheers from Clark supporters in the crowd. She nailed a stepback 3-pointer over Natasha Howard, the 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and led all scorers with 16 points by halftime.

Clark struggled with foul trouble in the second half, picking up her fourth at the under-5 mark of the third quarter. The physicality also affected her passing, a category in which she is usually unstoppable; she had just two assists compared to five turnovers.

She finished the game with 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-13 from 3, in 28 minutes.

Defense falters in first quarter

Sides has always been a stickler on defense — it was something she wanted to focus on last year, but the Fever finished 11th in the league in general defense. This year, she’s determined to improve that number. And she got varying results on Friday night.
Indiana opened the game on a 14-3 run, capped off by two Clark 3-pointers, and it looked like the Fever were on their way to a strong defensive showing. Then, Dallas went on a 23-9 run through the rest of the quarter, headlined by Arike Ogunbowale and Jaelyn Brown.

With the help of Fever rookie Celeste Taylor’s defense on Ogunbowale to start the second quarter, the Fever settled in a bit on the defensive end. Indiana allowed 14 points to the Wings in the second quarter, compared to 24 in the first.
Indiana managed to stay just barely ahead of the Wings for most of the second half, even as Sides was experimenting with different lineups and giving her starters some rest. Ogunbowale’s 3-pointer with 4 seconds left gave the Wings a slim margin of victory.

Fever missing pieces from lineup

While this game is one of just two times Fever players will be able to play against true opponents before the season starts, Indiana didn’t have its full starting lineup to slot into the game.

Kelsey Mitchell, who will likely play the 2, has not yet participated in training camp because of an ankle injury she suffered while preparing for 3×3 camp last month. She is considered day-to-day, and she went through dynamic warm ups during Friday morning’s shootaround. Katie Lou Samuelson was a late scratch from the game, tweaking her ankle during pregame warmups.

So, Indiana had to adapt. The Fever have one more preseason game with a chance to work its entire startling lineup — if Samuelson and Mitchell are healthy.