Clark's Historic Triple-Double the Latest Addition to Rookie's ...

By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com

Caitlin Clark has done a lot of things on a basketball court that nobody else has ever done before.

She’s done even more things faster and better than anyone before her, and though she’s known for her triples, Clark doubled-down on Saturday and recorded the WNBA’s first ever triple-double by a rookie.

When she grabbed her 10th rebound to complete the historic triple-double with 7:10 to go in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Clark was met with a roar from the crowd. She went on to score four more points, grab two more rebounds, and dish out three more assists.

“Honestly I wasn’t too aware,” Clark said. “Everybody was a little confused as to why they were going so nuts over a rebound.”

She caught on quickly – almost as quickly as she’s caught on to basketball in the WNBA.

The league has seen just 35 triple-doubles in its 27 seasons, and currently just four in its 28th season. No player wearing an Indiana Fever jersey has ever recorded a triple double until Clark, who has now accomplished the feat just 22 games into her professional career.

“Obviously it’s really cool,” Clark said. “My teammates have been finishing the ball really, really at a high rate. My assist numbers, that’s because of them. Just finding them in positions to be successful…we’ve done a really good job of that.”

Clark’s ability to create success for her teammates was evident at Iowa, where she tallied 17 triple-doubles in her collegiate career. Early indications show that she has every intent to continue that run of triple-doubles in the WNBA.

Through her first 22 games in the league, Clark has reached double figures in scoring 18 times. She’s tallied 10 or more assists four times, and grabbed double-digit rebounds three times. She was one rebound shy of a triple-double earlier in the season against the Phoenix Mercury, as she scored 15 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and completed 12 assists.

She now has three consecutive double-doubles with points and assists – the longest such streak by a rookie in league history. She also finds herself sixth on the WNBA’s all-time list for total assists by a rookie with 162. Her 162 assists also happen to be the best assists total in the league this season.

Clark’s ability to break and set records at a seemingly unsustainable pace is rooted in her competitive nature. It’s that drive to be the best that motivates her to keep getting better.

“First and foremost, she’s the most competitive human being I’ve ever met,” coach Christie Sides said of Clark. “…Just about anything that there’s a score being taken, she’s going to want to be competitive with it…But that is such a trait that just spills onto everyone else…She has that competitive, highly competitive spirit…That is just something that I can’t say enough about, appreciate her for that.”

Clark’s totals of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists on Saturday powered the Fever to a 28-point fourth quarter, earning a comeback win from 11 down and ultimately snapping a five-game win streak by the Liberty.

“I’m just happy we won,” Clark said. “…I take a lot of pride in being able to do a lot of different things for this team.”

The win over the league’s best team leaves the Fever with a 9-13 record, and a 6-4 record in the last 10 outings. Indiana looks to Wednesday when they’ll host the Washington Mystics in a matinee game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.