Report: Two -word statement Caitlin Clark sent during her WNBA preseason debut

Caitlin Clark done admirably.

The Indiana Fever fell short against the Dallas Wings on Friday, the day Caitlin Clark made her eagerly anticipated WNBA debut. However, Clark—who was selected first overall in the draft last month—performed admirably, tallying 21 points.

Clark posted some amazing pictures of the action on Instagram on Sunday night, along with a brief statement on her debut:

Thanks in large part to Clark’s attendance, the game was played in front of a sold-out crowd at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. After her incredible collegiate career, the former Iowa standout has helped women’s basketball gain enormous popularity in the past year. A few months ago, she broke the NCAA scoring record.

Despite only having played in one game thus far, Clark demonstrated why everyone is expecting her to be a WNBA superstar. The rookie pulled down three rebounds and dished out two assists in addition to going 5 for 13 from beyond the arc. She scored 16 points before halftime, doing the most of her damage in the first half.

Clark appeared satisfied with her performance. Through The Athletic:

“I wanted to play basketball and have fun, so tonight, I just wanted to be myself and be aggressive.” I thought that’s what I accomplished,” Clark remarked on Friday at a news conference following the game.

“We played pretty hard, in my opinion. It’s just a fantastic environment for women’s basketball,” Clark remarked on the Bally Sports broadcast following the game. “It seems like a nice way to start the WNBA season.”

It wasn’t all good news, though, for Caitlin Clark. The fact that she committed five errors and four fouls contributed to her limited playing time in the third quarter. There will be a brief adjustment period for the sniper, as this is a different level than college.

Overall, Clark said, there was plenty to learn. “These are valuable educational opportunities for us. This is not relevant. Rewatch the movie; it’s a truthful work; take something away from it.

Clark missed the contested three-pointer with a chance to tie the game at the buzzer. She observed both positive aspects of the Fever and certain aspects that the team still needed to improve on:

“I just consider the minor details.” Being able to run our offense a little bit better, understanding when to slow down and when to push in transition,” Clark continued. “Our defense was quite strong overall, however I felt we could have improved in a few spots. Overall, you have a lot to learn, but I felt like we could have passed the ball a little bit more effectively. We’re learning a lot from these, so it doesn’t really matter. Rewatch some movies; they don’t lie, so take what you can from them.

On Tuesday, May 14, Caitlin Clark will formally make her WNBA regular season debut against the Connecticut Sun. Clark and the Fever play the Atlanta Dream in their last preseason game on Friday, May 10.

As Clark continues to acclimate to the WNBA, we’ll see if she can once again play with efficiency and reduce her mistakes.