INDIANAPOLIS -- Caitlin Clark casually arced around the 3-point line before sprinting for a handoff from Myisha Hines-Allen and connecting on a score-tying triple with 3.1 seconds remaining to force overtime Friday night.
The Indiana Fever star took three quarters to find her groove before carrying the Fever into the extra period. Indiana lost 104-102 to the Washington Mystics, but Clark finally found her 3-point shot after going 3-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first two games of the season.
"I felt like I could have made another, like, five," Clark said. "They're all right there, and obviously it was great to break through and get some to go down.
"That's the hardest thing as a basketball player, when you're not making shots -- to really stay in it. So, I'm certainly proud of myself -- really, really battled. And a lot of those shots are very, very makeable."
Clark finished with 32 points, eight assists and four rebounds while shooting 7-for-17 from 3-point range. She put up 17 points, including five 3-pointers, in the fourth quarter while helping the Fever (1-2) erase a nine-point deficit after the opening three quarters.
The 2024 No. 1 pick admitted that a slow start from deep in the first two games may have affected her mindset.
"I think I started hesitating a little bit and probably hesitated a little bit to start the season," Clark said. "I don't need to do that. I'm best when I'm just letting it fly."
Through the first three quarters, Clark was 2-for-15 from the field, and she visibly slumped her shoulders after missing another 3-point attempt early in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, the two-time All-Star showed everyone how quickly she can heat up.
Back-to-back triples. A steal that led to a bounce pass that led to free throws. An assist before draining another 3. An interior layup and an assist in transition to Kelsey Mitchell. A pair of 3-pointers, including the score-tying shot, that bracketed another assist.
The biggest problem for Indiana was giving up over 100 points for the second time in three games.
"We've been letting [making shots] dictate how well we played defense too much," Clark said. "Which is disappointing for us as a group. ... When things aren't going well, we've still got to be able to defend and find ways to get stops, and we haven't done that very well to this point."
Fever coach Stephanie White added, "We put a lot of pressure on our offense to be perfect when we don't consistently defend."
On the opposite end, the Mystics (2-1) continued to show they'll be a tough out despite being the youngest team in the league.
Sonia Citron scored a career-high 30 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Kiki Iriafen posted a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Shakira Austin finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Cotie McMahon, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 draft, had 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in her debut after missing the first two games of the season with a left elbow sprain.
