Clark sets WNBA single-game assists record in Fever loss

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Indiana rookie Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA record for assists in a game Wednesday night, finishing with 19 in the Fever’s 101-93 loss to the Dallas Wings.

The previous record was 18 by Courtney Vandersloot for Chicago on Aug. 31, 2020. Vandersloot also had 18 in a playoff game on Sept. 28, 2021.

And the league’s previous record for assists by a rookie was 16, set by Ticha Penicheiro for Sacramento on July 29, 1998.

The record-breaker for Clark came on a play where she set Kelsey Mitchell up for a 3-pointer with 2:22 remaining. That tied it at 93, but Dallas closed with an 8-0 run.

Odyssey Sims and Arike Ogunbowale each had 24 points for Dallas. Aliyah Boston had 28 points for Indiana, while Clark had 24 on 10-for-19 shooting.

Clark is averaging 17.1 points and a WNBA-leading 8.2 assists this season. She’s been on an assist tear in her last nine games, averaging 11.9 over that stretch.

Clark is the first rookie and ninth player overall in WNBA history with at least 400 points and 200 assists in a season. Chelsea Gray has three such seasons, Alyssa Thomas has two and six other players — Sue Bird, Jordin Canada, Natasha Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Williams and Vandersloot — have done it once.

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