Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever eliminated from playoffs after loss to Connecticut

By DOUG FEINBERG

Caitlin Clark did all she could to help the Indiana Fever stave off elimination. It just wasn't enough.

The sensational rookie scored 25 points and had nine assists in Indiana's 87-81 loss to Connecticut in Game 2. A much better night than her playoff debut when she had just 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting.

Clark had a record-breaking season on and off the court. She broke the single-season assist record as well as setting the league's individual game mark. The unanimous AP Rookie of the Year also broke the rookie record for points in a season.

“I'm a tough grader. I feel like I had a solid year,” Clark said. “For me, the fun part is like I feel like I'm just scratching the surface and I'm the one that's nit picking every single thing I do. I know I want to help this franchise. ... I know there's a lot of room for me to continue to improve so that's what excites me the most. I feel like I continue to get a lot better.”

Now she'll have some time to relax, recover and think about her year. With the exception of the Olympic break, Clark has little time to rest going straight from college to the WNBA draft to the pros.

“Basketball has consumed my life for a year. It will be good to reflect back on everything that happened,” Clark said. “I didn’t have time to reflect on my college career, it ended so fast. I gave everything to my team and helped this team get back to the playoffs. I feel like taking some time to myself and enjoying that and reflecting back.”

Indiana rebounded from a 1-8 start to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

“It was special. A lot of things this group accomplished people that didn’t think was possible after the start we had to the season," she said. "It will definitely be a little weird for the first couple weeks and then I’ll get bored and pick up a basketball again.”

Off the court, Clark and her fellow rookies have been a ratings and attendance boon for the WNBA. Despite the blowout loss in Game 1, fans tuned in as the game averaged 1.8 million viewers according to ESPN, making it the WNBA's most watched playoff game since the 2000 Finals. It was the most watched playoff game on ESPN ever despite going up against the NFL.

Six different league television partners set viewership records this year for its highest viewed WNBA game. All of those games included the Fever.

Thanks to Clark, Indiana led the league in attendance both at home and on the road. The Fever averaged 17,036 at home and over 15,000 on the road. Four teams moved home games to bigger arenas when Indiana came to town to accommodate more fans.