Caitlin Clark's record-breaking August sets the stage for her FIBA Women's World Cup debut
Caitlin Clark is gearing up for her first appearance in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup on Friday, and if she plays like she did for the Indiana Fever this past month, Team USA may be impossible to take down.
Clark’s August in the WNBA was a spectacle to behold, as she once again made league history with her phenomenal play.
For starters, Clark scored or assisted on 44.7 points per game, a WNBA record for a single month. The stellar point guard has always had a knack for either finding the bottom of the net or dishing assists to her teammates to get the job done.
CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER GO INTO FIBA WORLD CUP BREAK WITH BIG WIN OVER CONNECTICUT
Either way, those numbers were racked up throughout the month of August, and more history followed.
Clark became the first player in WNBA history with back-to-back 30-plus-point and 10-plus-assist games.
They both came in the final two games for the Fever before this international break, scoring 34 points with 12 assists in a 111-91 win over the Connecticut Sun. Then, Clark poured in 37 points, including eight of 12 three-pointers made, with 10 assists in the Aug. 23 win over the Chicago Sky, 113-90.
That game against the Sky was also significant, as Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago after an altercation involving Sky guard Natasha Cloud. The third-quarter incident, though, never rattled Clark and the Fever, and they got the job done before heading back home.
It's also worth mentioning the off-the-court situation that made national headlines involving Freedom considering the Fever's caption called Clark's performance "HERstoric." Kanter, fellow Fever star Sophie Cunningham, and many others have spoken out about their belief that biological men should be out of women's sports.
Meanwhile, a WNBA task force of team presidents and general managers met last month to discuss a wide range of topics, one of which being transgender athletes. However, they did not arrive at any eligibility rules, which basically means the league can't define what a woman is.
"Today's meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online," the WNBA’s statement read. "We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others."
So, while play on words does make sense here with "HERstoric," it falls a bit flat considering what's been happening off the court with the WNBA. But there's no doubting the history that Clark continues to make.
Clark put together five games in August where she had at least 20 points and 10 assists. To put that into perspective, no other player had five such games in the last five seasons combined.
Finally, Clark averaged 24.4 points per game, which was the highest-scoring month by a point guard in WNBA history.
The Fever went 7-4 in their August stretch, bringing them to 26-14 on the season thus far. That record is good for fifth in the WNBA standings, though it is quite tight between those in front, and behind, Indiana.
The Fever have only four games remaining in their regular-season schedule once they return from the international break. Clark and the rest of her teammates will be sure to hit the ground running and try to get hot heading into the playoffs.