Caitlin Clark made it even harder to argue against her running for the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award as she posted arguably her best week of stats yet.
That effort began with a bang on July 10, Clark scoring 29 points — on 7-of-14 from the field, 5-of-9 from deep, and an impressive 10-of-11 from the free throw line — in addition to 13 assists and five rebounds on just five turnovers.
And although she was firm on the other end of the floor as well, snagging five steals and swatting three blocks in 38 minutes of playing time, the Indiana Fever could not outlast the bottom-tiered Washington Mystics. The Fever lost, 89-84.
In a bounce-back 95-86 win over the Phoenix Mercury on July 12, though, Clark continued that effort with 20 points on 8-of-16 from the field despite making just two threes and free throws each.
The 38 more minutes played in that contest also held 12 assists and six rebounds alongside a steal and two blocks, although her nagging six turnovers continue to hurt the young team’s offensive output.
And the Fever escaped Minneapolis with an 81-74 win over the Minnesota Lynx on July 14 behind 17 Clark points, although she struggled a bit more to connect offensively.
She missed 12 attempts from the field, including nine threes, although she hit all five of her attempts from the charity stripe. Her three rebounds, six assists, and two steals still provided the now-11-14 overall squad with a boost over her six turnovers in her 37 minutes in the game.
Martin gets active, Gustafson sits out
The Las Vegas Aces are on a tear, now 16-7 overall, having won a stunning 10 of their last 11 games. And rookie Kate Martin has certainly played her supporting role.
In a July 10 84-79 win over the Seattle Storm, in which Megan Gustafson was absent due to a non-COVID illness, Martin was held scoreless in six minutes despite otherwise logging two assists and a steal.
But in another win on July 12, this time 84-70 over the Atlanta Dream, Martin jumped out to a well-rounded stat line with six points on 2-of-5 from the field and two of them threes as well as two boards and two steals.
While Gustafson missed that contest as well due to the coach’s decision, she bounced back for nine minutes in an 89-77 win over the Washington Mystics on July 14. There, she scored two points on one attempt in addition to three rebounds and a steal.
Martin also logged nine minutes of tick, nailing a three on three attempts from the field while filling the sheet with two rebounds, two assists, and a block.