The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Caitlin Clark Returns Leading Indiana to Hand New York Its First Loss; Minneapolis Shakes Off First Loss Crushing L.A. While Golden State Downs Seattle

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Caitlin Clark returned to active-duty Saturday afternoon from a five-game absence due to a quad strain for the Indiana Fever (5-5) becoming a one-woman wrecking crew to demolish the New York Liberty 102-88 before a Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd of 17,274 fans in Indianapolis and a nationwide TV audience on ABC.

The outcome completed a takedown of the last two unbeaten franchises in the 13-team league in the same week with the one that fell just in front of the defending WNBA champions (9-1) the Minnesota Lynx (10-1) bouncing back at home in the Target Center before a crowd of 10,810 in Minneapolis and another nationwide TV viewing audience on CBS to douse the Los Angeles Sparks 101-78

In the third and final game on the WNBA Saturday card, the expansion Golden State Valkyries (5-5) continued their WNBA  record season opening attendance sellout streak to five straight games with a crowd of 18,064 in the Chase Center in San Francisco who watched their team even its record to 5-5 with a 76-70 win over Seattle (6-5)  in their first ever meeting with the Storm.

Clark Fuels Indiana Upset of New York

Caitlin Clark had not played since sustaining her injury late last month when New York pulled a narrow two-point triumph and continuing with the best start in the 29-year history of the franchise.

Initially the time frame to Clark being on the sidelines was forecast to be four games, the first absence to injury since a sophomore in high school as she went on to play all four years at Iowa becoming the all-time NCAA scoring leader then playing all last season in being rookie of the year after taken as the overall No. 1 draft pick by Indiana.

Indiana went 2-2 in those first four games and then lost the fifth one Tuesday as Fever coach Stephanie White chose to be cautious and gauge Clark’s practices before inserting both her back into the lineup and Sophie Cunningham, who had only played four games this season, limited by a knee injury.

Then, Clark, anxious to get back to work, made good on her reappearance against New York matching her best with seven makes from deep propelling her way to 32 points for her season’s best performance.

 Overall, Indiana had a record day shooting from deep, connecting on 17-of-35 for 48.6%.

It was Clark’s third game in her WNBA career reaching 30 points with five boards and five assists.

Kelsey Mitchell, the former Ohio State sensation, contributed 22 points, while Lexi Hull scored 14, and Aaliyah Boston, the former South Carolina star who went No. 1 to Indiana a season ahead of Clark, double doubled with 10 points and 11 rebounds and the Fever got to reach 100 points the first time this season.

New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, a prior No. 1 overall choice out of Oregon, had 34 points, while Breanna Stewart scored 24.

Stewart, the former UConn sensation in 2016 went overall No. 1 to Seattle, winning a championship before landing in her native New York when she became a free agent.

Still, at the outset it looked like the Liberty would own the game in jumping to a 17-6 lead before Clark got hot with three straight long-range shots, scoring from 33, 27 and 31 feet to knot the score at 24 all.

“It was a tough day for us but credit Indiana, I thought they did a pretty good job,” said New York coach Sandy Brondello. “We had our moments. We got back into the game when Stewie was guarding Caitlin Clark, but they executed really well.

“We had defensive breakdowns, and they made shots.”

Indiana went to the half up 53-50 and then the Liberty went 9-0 to start the third quarter before the Fever countered erupting on a 19-0 surge to head to the fourth ahead 80-71.

The Liberty was not done, however, moving within three at 85-82 with six minutes left in regulation before Indiana then soared to the finish on a 14-2 blast.

The loss dropped New York into a 3-1 tie with Indiana in the second of the three weeks of the in-season tournament Commissioner’s Cup in which the best of each conference will meet on July 1, a game last season won by Minnesota over the Liberty, who then came back and beat the Lynx in a deciding Game 5 in overtime to claim the league title.

New York next is back home Tuesday, the WNBA’s busiest night of the season with a maximum six games set with two being the Liberty hosting Atlanta on League Pass at 7 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, while the Fever hosts the Connecticut Sun at 7 p.m. on NBA TV.

Minnesota Romps Over Seattle

Having suffered its first loss of the season earlier in the week at Seattle, the Lynx took out the setback on Los Angeles (4-8) before a crowd of 10,810 in the Target Center as Napheesa Collier poured in 26 of her 32 points in the first two quarters against the Sparks and Courtney Williams scored 17 points.

Natisha Hiedman off the bench scored 14 points and Maria Kliundikova scored 11.

Collier, the former UConn standout who co-founded with New York’s Stewart the new offseason Unrivaled League played in Miami last winter, has had three games with 30 or more points this season.

She wasn’t needed the fourth period, having shot 13-16 from the field, including 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Collier outshot the entire Sparks team at the outset going 7-9 from the field, while Los Angeles was 4-for-7 from the field.

The Lynx went into the second quarter up 34-15 in the nationally televised game on CBS to start the day’s WNBA tripleheader.

Collier was 10-of-12 going into the break, Minnesota up 58-26 with Los Angeles scoring 7-for-30 as a team.

Newcomer Kelsey Plum scored 20 for the Sparks, Rickea Jackson collected 18 points, Emma Cannon had 14, while Dearica Hamby double doubled with 10 points and 12 boards.

The Lynx are 4-1 on the Western side of the Commissioner’s Cup Race at the halfway point while Los Angeles is 2-3.

Minnesota stays home Tuesday hosting the struggling Las Vegas Aces at 8 p.m., while Los Angeles hosts Seattle at 10 p.m. on NBA TV at the Coinbase.com arena, formerly known as the Staples Center.

Golden State Tops Seattle to Reach .500

The Valkryies, who have been hot this month, got a double-double 22 points and 12 boards from Kayla Thornton, while Temi Fagbenle scored 16, with Carla Leite also in double figures scoring 14 points.

Seattle’s Skylar Diggins scored 21, while substitute Alysha Clark scored 11 points, and Ezi Magbegor scored 10 as the Storm came to the game off their prior upset that handed Minnesota the Lynx’s first loss of the season.

Golden State went up 15-13 on Leite’s shot in the first and never trailed the rest of the game moving in front by the half 44-31.

Midway in the fourth the Valkyries held control at 67-62, were threatened at 74-70 with 44.1 seconds left in the game but that was the last of Seattle’s scoring while Thornton finished it from the line with 13.1 seconds left.

Both teams are now 3-2 in the Cup Standings in the West at the halfway point.

Golden State on Tuesday is at Dallas at 8 p.m., while Seattle is at Los Angeles as mentioned is at Seattle.

Phoenix is the one idle team Tuesday playing at Connecticut at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Sun hosts Chicago at noon on CBS, Washington hosts Atlanta at 2 p.m. on CBSSN at CareFirst Arena, while Phoenix is at Las Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena at 6 p.m.