When it came to Caitlin Clark, Alyssa Thomas showed no mercy, leaving the Indiana Fever rookie “hurt.”

After being knocked down by an Alyssa Thomas screen on Wednesday and called for an offensive foul, Caitlin Clark responded in a way that summed up her recent WNBA development.

After just four minutes of Wednesday’s game against Connecticut, Caitlin Clark found herself transported back to her humiliating WNBA debut week.

Against the Fever’s foolish defense in her third game of the year, Clark raced blindly into a screen from Breanna Stewart of New York and staggered to her feet before the All-Star forward dove to the mid-post for an easy basket.

Another of the WNBA’s premier players turned crushing brick wall, Alyssa Thomas this time, knocked Clark to the Gainbridge Fielhouse hardwood on Wednesday evening, and four months later Clark can admit that these devastating screens still leave a mark. “Yeah, it hurt a [little] bit,” Clark told reporters. “I would say it’s up there with one of the most physical games I’ve played so far, but you know you’re gonna get that.” DiJonai Carrington takes aim at Indiana Fever fans after Caitlin Clark makes her regret taunt A’ja Wilson left furious – ‘If I get fined for this I am terribly sorry but it’s ridiculous’ But the next 36 minutes served as a testament to both Clark and the Fever’s tremendous growth over the past four months. As a late rally from Connecticut tied the game with 90 seconds remaining, the star point guard blew by Veronica Burton for a finger-roll finish, capping off a 19-point, five-assist evening as Indiana dispatched of the WNBA’s third-best team 84-80.

“I think this is a really big win for us, I think this a team that we felt we hadn’t really given a game to at all…” Clark continued. “We didn’t feel like we were playing how we are now — the two games there [Connecticut] were about as bad as it gets for us as a team this season — so I’m just proud of our group. I thought we came in very motivated, very excited for this game.” Stewart’s hard screen and dive to the rim back in May compounded a much more dire situation for the Fever, who fell to 0-3 after a third double-digit defeat. Clark was oscillating between erroneous shooting and devastating turnover woes — she’d finished 1-7 from 3 the game after setting the WNBA record for giveaways in a debut — as her collision with Stewart, for many, came to represent the league’s patently physical style wearing down the slight point guard.

During this three-game period, the Fever recorded a scorching 112.2 defensive rating, and on June 10, following one of the previously stated blowout losses in Connecticut, Indiana was on track to have the second-worst defense in WNBA history. The Fever, however, seem to have turned around since the league resumed play this month. Their fortunes had slightly improved prior to the Olympic break.
The Fever are ranked sixth defensively over their previous four games, which is entirely adequate considering that Clark has recently been leading one of the most productive offenses in the league. This progress was demonstrated by a decisive finish to the game on Wednesday, as the team shut down the Sun on five consecutive possessions to earn their fourth victory in five meetings.

In addition to setting the record for the most assists by a rookie in WNBA history against the Sun, Clark now ranks in the top three of 117 qualifying players in terms of effective field goal %. The post-game pressure on Wednesday included infectious laughing and enduring grins, which was perhaps most unexpected for a club that was previously known for its historic losing record and tense locker room dynamics.

Coach Christie Sides remarked, “I think the word joy you just used is something we couldn’t find a lot of early.” “Enjoying yourself while playing this game is essential. There was a new vibe in the air when we won those two games after the Olympic break. There was joy.