Caitlin Clark appeared refreshed after the Olympic break as she put in a virtuoso performance for the Indiana Fever on her return to WNBA duties following a hard-earned rest.
As Team USA triumphed at the Games in Paris, the point guard was a notable absentee with the decision to leave her off the roster dividing opinion. However, the 22-year-old embraced the prospect of a breather from a gruelling schedule to take stock after making the transition from college basketball to the professional game this year.
Starring for the Fever in a 98-89 thriller versus the Phoenix Mercury , Clark was at her mesmerizing best as she scored 16 points by halftime alone. From there, she contributed a further 13 to end proceedings on 29 points in a memorable showing for Indiana as she continued her record-breaking rookie campaign in style.
This latest performance saw the youngster become the first rookie in the league's history to tally up 450+ PTS and 200+ AST, as she demonstrated her generational talent once more. Her display also showed that her remarks about wanting to enjoy a break from the sport during the Olympics proved prophetic, with her time away having seemingly left her reinvigorated.
After missing out on a place on the roster for the Games in the French capital, Clark was open about her need for some respite after a period of major change for her professionally. She said: "I honestly can't wait to not touch a basketball for a while. I've shot too many times in the past year.
"I think it's hard as a professional athlete at times like people do always realize I feel like an individual just like all of you," Clark continued. "I'm just the same human. I go about my same daily life, I do all the things that you do, I just play basketball on top of that."
Meanwhile, Fever coach Christie Sides said: "I'm loving that she's going to get a breather and get some rest, just for our push after this Olympic break. I think it's great for her; she's just been going so hard for quite some time now, and this is just going to help her so much just to kind of decompress."
Speaking with pride after an eye-catching show for the Fever versus the Mercury, Clark said: "We were incredible, we had a few lapses that didn't look very pretty for us but we always found a way to respond. It sets the tone of were we want to be the rest of the season, to grind this one out. It's one at a time and we have got another big one Sunday."
Giving her reflections on her return to WNBA action, she added: "I called for a sub six minutes in. If I'm being honest I was like, holy cow.I was like I need a quick minute here because we were playing fast and then my defense isn't as good.'
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