Caitlin Clark gets special 'shoutout' after Fever play in front of historic crowd
09/20/2024 12:04 PM
The Indiana Fever’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark received special recognition from teammate NaLyssa Smith following a historic night for the WNBA. The Fever faced the Washington Mystics in front of a record-breaking crowd of 20,711 at Capital One Arena on Thursday, marking the largest attendance in WNBA history, according to Sports Business Journal.
Despite a narrow 92-91 loss to the Mystics, the night was significant for the league and the Fever. Smith, acknowledging the impact of playing in front of such a massive audience, said in video shared by Matthew Byrne of ClutchPoints, “This is what we’ve been hoping for forever .. you never get used to it: just always showing up and playing in front of sold-out crowds.”
She added, “And I mean, shoutout Caitlin. Shoutout Caitlin. We appreciate her."
NaLyssa Smith on playing in the record-breaking 20K+ crowd tonight: "This is what we've been hoping for forever… you never get used to it: just always showing up and playing in front of sold-out crowds."
"And I mean, shoutout Caitlin. Shoutout Caitlin. We appreciate her." pic.twitter.com/Phj2B4K1gM
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) September 20, 2024
The record attendance was made possible by the game being held at Capital One Arena instead of the Mystics’ usual home, Entertainment & Sports Arena, which has a capacity of only 4,200.
For the Fever, already secured as the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs, the game provided an opportunity for bench players to shine. Coach Christie Sides rested most starters, including Clark, for much of the game.
Fever bench players shine in narrow loss
The “Gray Squad,” consisting of Grace Berger, Kristy Wallace, Katie Lou Samuelson, Temi Fagbenle and Damiris Dantas, who had never played together all season, led a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback. They outscored the Mystics by 15 points in the final period, nearly pulling off an upset.
Wallace, who scored a season-high 17 points, expressed excitement about the opportunity.
“It’s always exciting when you go out there and do well. It was just awesome to see my teammates out there and do well," she said, per Bryne.
Coach Sides praised the competitive spirit of all 12 players on the roster, highlighting their dedication in practice and workouts.
"We've got 12 players who are all real competitors," Sides said. "That is one thing that we do in our practices: we try to make just about every drill as competitive as we can. Those guys compete every day with the blue team. If we're doing a shooting drill, it gets real serious. And if you don't have the score right, it can ugly … they haven't gotten the minutes, but they don't miss a workout."
The game also saw a brief scare when Kelsey Mitchell collided with a Mystics player in the first quarter, but later confirmed she was “fine.”
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