WNBA: Caitlin Clark's late resurgence earns Indiana Fever first win of the season against LA Sparks

Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark enjoyed their first win of the WBNA season with a 78-73 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

Clark had struggled for the much of the night in front of a sold-out crowd, many of whom had come to see her after her record-breaking college exploits.

With just five points and seven three-point misses to her name after almost 38 minutes, the rookie was struggling. But then she finally nailed a three from 33 feet back, and her fortunes turned, along with the Fever's.

"I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I seriously think every shot I shoot is gonna go in," Clark said after the win. "Some nights are absolutely amazing and some nights you struggle to shoot it a little bit, but I want to take those shots at the end of the game.

"I think it's a mindset and a confidence that you have to have about yourself."

The Fever were up by two with less than a minute of play remaining, and Clark landed another from downtown, and moved her team into a five-point lead that held for the remaining seconds.

"We've been so close," Fever head coach Christie Sides said of the first victory of the campaign. "We just stayed poised."

Discussing Clark, Sides added: "She hit some huge shots but did everything we needed her to do,. She's really focused on really helping us out, getting better on the defensive, I'm really proud of her energy."

The Fever had been struggling and they were 11 points down at half-time, but Clark continued to shoot in the second half, and added 10 rebounds to make an impact in another way.

After losing the first five games with the Pacers, Clark explained she was focused on her all-round contribution to the team, not just her scoring.

"I thought I played a really good game other than [shooting]," she continued. "Whether I was rebounding, finding my teammates, I thought I was really active on defence, so I didn't let that bother me and that's something I'm really proud of."

Elsewhere on the team, others made sure to pick up the slack on the scoring, with Aliyah Boston notching 17 points, as did Temi Fagbenle, and Kelsey Mitchell went one better with 18.

Of her late resurgence, Clark said she had little doubt things would turn in her favour, explaining: "To be honest, I went to the bench after I was like, 'I was due, they had to go in.'

"I had missed so many throughout the game. It was time for them to go in. This is my job, this is what I love to do, but I never want to lose the fun of the game, and nights like tonight remind me why I love playing basketball."

Next up in the WNBA, the Minnesota Lynx host the New York Liberty on Saturday evening, live on TNT Sports via discovery+.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.