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On Wednesday, Caitlin Clark broke Courtney Vandersloot's WNBA assist record, recording 19 assists in her and the Indiana Fever's loss to the Dallas Wings. The loss snapped a two-game win streak, however, Clark recorded a 24-point, 19-assist double-double, shooting 52.6% from the field despite some struggles from beyond the arc.
While much of the post-game coverage centered around Clark breaking Vandersloot's 18-assist record, some criticized the Fever star for her turnovers. In Wednesday's game, Clark finished with six turnovers for the third straight game, bringing her season turnover average to 5.6 per game.
In addition, Caitlin Clark also leads the league in turnovers, and by a pretty large margin. Currently, Alyssa Thomas sits in second place for the highest turnover per game average with 3.6, two turnovers less than Clark.
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Some took the opportunity to discredit the WNBA rookie's historic achievement on Wednesday rather than celebrate an iconic moment in league history. On social media, critics were met with pushback from fans, who spoke up to defend Clark.
In response to a YouTube video discussing the game, one fan pointed out that the compliments the Rookie of the Year candidate gets have been two-sided.
Others then agreed in response to the comment:
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Caitlin Clark fans continued to defend the star from criticism.
"Oh I get it, like skip with Lebron you’re doing the bit with CaitlinOh I get it, like skip with Lebron you’re doing the bit with Caitlin" - One wrote
"She’s a rookie with a high usage rate. We just watched Wemby go through the issue with TOs. And she’s helped lift this team from back to back last place finishes to a middle of the pack playoff team. I think they can live with the TOs" - Another added
Caitlin Clark opens up on late-game turnover in loss to Wings
While many fans were critical of Clark's six turnovers, specifically a late-game turnover with just minutes left on the clock, Clark herself wasn't pleased. During a timeout, moments after a pivotal turnover in crunch time, Clark was frustrated with herself.
As she walked back to the bench she took the water bottle she was handed and threw it at the ground in frustration, clearly upset with herself. After the game, while speaking with media members, the Rookie of the Year frontrunner expressed her frustration, breaking down the play as she remembered it:
“It’s a fine line of they were up pressuring me, so I kind of got behind them and was able to attack and then I tried to pull it out and then kind of lost my handle while being poked from behind. That one definitely killed. … That one’s really costly, you can’t have it.”
Clark and the Fever will now go on a month-long hiatus for the WNBA All-Star Weekend, where Clark and Fever teammate Aliyah Boston will suit up for Team WNBA, and the month-long Olympic break.
The team will have several weeks to practice and recover before then returning to action on Aug. 16, when they face off with the Phoenix Mercury at home.
