Caitlin Clark’s Fourth-Quarter Explosion Lifts Fever to Overtime vs. Mystics

INDIANAPOLIS — For three quarters of Friday’s game against the Mystics, Caitlin Clark could hardly hit a shot. In the fourth quarter, she could hardly miss.

Clark scored 17 of her 32 points, including five three-pointers, in a wild final frame of regulation and dragged the Fever back into a game they looked set to lose. Her fifth three-pointer was the biggest of the night as it forced overtime in the waning seconds.

Caitlin Clark: Forces OT ✔️
Knocks down 5th three of Q4 ✔️
7 total 3PM through regulation ✔️
WHAT CAN'T SHE DO?! @IndianaFever

Even though Clark’s heroics were not enough as the Fever fell to Washington in the extra session in one of the best finishes of the young WNBA season, it still highlighted just how quickly things can change with Clark on the floor.

“I felt like I could have made another like five [threes],” Clark said postgame. “They’re all like right there and, obviously, it’s great to break through and get some to go down.”

Clark hit a pair of threes on successive possessions midway through the first quarter. As it would turn out, those would be her only two makes through the first three periods. She was an ice-cold 2-15 from the field and 2-7 from three heading into the fourth, mirroring the Fever’s offensive struggles as a team with a 32.8% field-goal percentage in that span.

BACK-TO-BACK CAITLIN CLARK THREES TO START Q4 🔥🔥 @IndianaFever

Clark scored or assisted on 11 of the first 12 points of the fourth quarter. The only point she didn’t directly create was a Monique Billings free throw, which came on a foul after a Clark pass. She would go on to assist or score on 18 of the first 21 points for the Fever as they pulled themselves back into the game.

Her third three gave the Fever a short-lived 70-69 lead. By the time she connected on her fourth three, the Fever trailed by four with just over 90 seconds left. That deficit grew to eight with 51 seconds left, leaving Indiana in need of a miracle.

After a Myisha Hines-Allen layup, a Mystics turnover led to a Kelsey Mitchell three-pointer, cutting the deficit to three. The two teams traded free throws, leaving the Fever down three with 5.1 seconds left.

A great play design from Indiana head coach Stephanie White created just enough room for Clark to get off a shot as she drifted out of bounds. It was all the space she would need as the shot found the net, tying the game with 1.7 seconds left.

“That’s like the hardest thing as a basketball player is when you’re not making shots to really stay in it,” Clark said. “So I’m certainly proud of myself. Really, really