Caitlin Clark, NaLyssa Smith, Christie Sides after Fever's opening night loss at Connecticut | VIDEO
The Fever opened the season Tuesday on the road at Connecticut. Hear from coach Christie Sides, Caitlin Clark on her WNBA debut and NaLyssa Smith.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — There was much anticipation for the start of the Indiana Fever season. The addition of Caitlin Clark led to unprecedented interest in a franchise on the rise, and with the stated goal of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
They opened the season on the road against the Connecticut Sun, one of the powers in the Eastern Conference. And it’s a team coached by Indiana native Stephanie White.
Fans with signs, t-shirts, jerseys and more of Clark filled Mohegan Sun Arena, a sellout crowd for the Sun’s home opener for the first time since 2003 — the first-ever home game for the franchise.
Clark missed her first three shots, and two early foul calls against led to her taking a seat on the bench just five minutes into her WNBA debut. She finished with a game-high 20 points, three assists, two steals and 10 turnovers in 33 minutes.
Forward NaLyssa Smith, who had a productive preseason, added 13 points and nine boards in a 92-71 loss.
Watch my postgame recap from Mohegan Sun Arena below.
The Sun have the experience, size and length all to their advantage — and it was obvious right away.
Coach Christie Sides, along with Clark and Smith, went on a dais in the backstage of the arena to answer questions from some of the more than 50 media members on hand for the postgame press conference.
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Watch what they had to say below.
A couple of weeks ago, I caught an interview of Sue Bird on NPR. She mentioned how difficult it is to acclimate from college to the WNBA, even for elite. Only 144 of the best in the world make it.