Caitlin Clark broke down her buzzer-beating 3 in the Fever's 78-76 win over the Mystics: "My hands got a little clammy, but still went in, I guess."
Caitlin Clark had missed two free throws in the final minute. Moments later, with the game on the line, she got the look she wanted.
Clark caught a crosscourt inbound pass, rose from just in front of the logo and drilled a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to give the Indiana Fever a 78-76 win over the Washington Mystics on Monday night. For a 24-year-old star who has weathered a bumpy start to her third season, it was a signature moment.
"Sometimes we take great players, and certainly generational talent, for granted," Fever coach Stephanie White said. "What she did was incredible for us. She's going to have many more moments like that. I know she is. And we needed this one tonight."
Clark entered, still working through her shooting struggles, while also responding to a tense sideline exchange with White and the constant online chatter that surrounds her. Indiana was at 5-5, having recently held a team meeting to address issues. However, none of that background mattered once she had the ball in the final seconds.
She established the tone early by scoring 10 points in the first quarter but encountered foul trouble in the second. Her four-point play in the third quarter increased Indiana's lead to 17, but the Mystics managed to rally all the way back.
"You better make this," Clark said of her thinking in the moment. "Because I missed my free throws. All those plays are plays we work on after practice, so everybody knows their role, everybody knows what they're going to do."
The look was created by chaos as much as design. After Sonia Citron's two free throws put Washington ahead 76-75 with 4.3 seconds to play, Sophie Cunningham's inbound pass sailed across the floor to Clark, who was left wide open when Cotie McMahon gambled for a steal and came up empty.
"Cotie almost got a fingertip on it," Clark said. "It kind of worked out perfectly that she went for the steal. Honestly, probably the most wide-open shot I had all night. My hands got a little clammy, but still went in, I guess."
Asked whether the game-winner might finally quiet the noise around Clark, White suggested that is not how it works.
"I don't know that the noise is ever going to be quiet," White said. "This is what Caitlin does. She makes big shots, and she has big moments."
It was the second time this season Clark has beaten the Mystics in the final seconds. Her 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left forced overtime last month, though Washington won that game 104-102. This time Clark finished with 19 points, and the Fever closed it out on defense, with Aliyah Boston breaking up Washington's last inbound pass after the Mystics advanced to midcourt. The win moved Indiana to 6-5.
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