Of all the WNBA players Caitlin Clark has faced on the court this season, she had especially high—and perhaps surprising—praise for one recent opponent.
In the Indiana Fever’s 90-80 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday night, Clark and the Fever quickly found out they had no answer for Lynx forward Napheesa Collier.
Collier scored a season-high 31 points and added five rebounds in Minnesota’s win, marking her third consecutive game recording 23 or more points. The four-time All-Star punished the Fever’s occasionally lax defense with smooth jumpers and aggressive drives into the paint all night, and Collier’s stellar outing drew the attention of Clark after the game.
“She’s the staple of the team, like she does so much for the team,” Clark said of Collier in a postgame presser. “There were a few times she made a few shots and I caught myself like, ‘Dang. Can’t guard that.’ And I don’t really do that often.
“She made a tough run in I think on the left side during the second half off the glass outside the paint, and AB played really good defense. There’s nothing you can do but take the ball down and go the other way and tell her good job.”
caitlin starstruck with phee lmao… pic.twitter.com/ims8pDkD8p
— sofia (@slowlyslide) August 25, 2024
Collier sat out due to injury in the Lynx’s prior matchup against the Fever in July, when Indiana won 81-74. The 27-year-old may have been one of the major reasons Minnesota came away with a victory this time as she arguably outplayed Clark, who finished the night with 23 points, five rebounds and eight assists and committed seven turnovers.
Clark did, however, make another piece of history Saturday as the fastest player to reach 500 points and 200 assists in a single season in WNBA history (29 games). She is also the first rookie to do so.
The Fever and the Lynx will play each other next on Sept. 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
