'I was due.' Caitlin Clark's late 3s lead Indiana Fever to first win, ease pressure a bit

LOS ANGELES — Caitlin Clark has unparalleled confidence in her shot. Every shot she takes, she believes is going in — no matter how off-kilter it could potentially be.

It could be a crazy mindset for the Indiana Fever rookie. Or it could be something that keeps her prepared for any possible moment.

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"I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I seriously think every shots gonna go in that I shoot," Clark said. "And that's basketball, this is just how it goes like some nights are absolutely amazing, some nights you struggle to shoot a little bit. But I want to take those shots at the end of the game."

Heading into the final minute of Indiana's game against Los Angeles on Friday, Clark had just eight points. She was 3-of-13 from the field, 1-of-8 from 3-point range. It was a poor shooting night.

With the Fever up just two points with 45 seconds left in the game, Clark was prepared in that crucial moment. Running up the court, she knew a 3-pointer could potentially seal the game. She faked out Kia Nurse, got open, and drained a long 3-pointer, drawing the Los Angeles crowd to its feet.

It was her time, and she knew it.

"I went to the bench after, and I was like 'I was due. They had to go in. I had missed so many throughout the game,'" Clark said. "It was time for them to go in, so I was glad I could come up with a couple big shots for us."

Clark's heroics, however late they came, pushed the Fever to their first win of the season, 78-73, over the Sparks. For a team that started 0-5 and just played their sixth game in 11 days, it was a sigh of relief.

"We've been so close to it with Seattle, four points to Connecticut, but we couldn't find a way to put it away," coach Christie Sides said. "We were able to do that tonight. They came back and cut it to two, and we just stayed poised."

Clark ended the game with 11 points, her second-lowest scoring output of the season so far. But she was still one of the most effective players on the floor — she had her first career double-double with 10 rebounds, and nearly made it a triple with eight assists, and just two turnovers.

Her court vision was second-to-none on Friday night, as she facilitated shots for guard Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 18 points, as well as Aliyah Boston and Temi Fagbenle, who each had 17.

That, coupled with a career-high four steals, meant more than the points.

"Caitlin was running our offense," Sides said. "When Kelsey Mitchell got hot, she says, 'Coach, what are we gonna run right here? Kelsey's hot,' and there were some times when AB had some mismatches, and (Clark) was like 'What can we run right here to get her shot?' She's learning our system, she's learning our players, she had some huge shots. She did everything she needed to do, and she's really focused on helping us out on the defensive end, getting better on defense, and I'm really proud of her energy."

The Fever are the youngest team in the league, with an average experience level of 3.5 years. Their point guard, the person who runs the entire offense, is a rookie who was still on her college team less than two months ago. The beginning of their schedule, going up against two of the best teams in the league and having five of their first seven games on the road, is a gauntlet.

This first win was only the beginning for the Fever. There's still a lot of ways they can improve, and they will.

"We're the youngest, the most inexperienced team in this league," Clark said. "People don't want to give us much grace, people don't want to give my teammates much grace, they expect us to be world champions on day one. Like, that's not realistic. There's a learning curve here."

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark overcomes shooting slump to lead Fever past LA Sparks