INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark learned some tough lessons from her first two WNBA tests.
She has struggled with fouls, expectations and, like most rookies, making a smooth transition from college basketball to the pro level. And, here, there's no grading curve, as this year's No. 1 draft pick found out Thursday night.
Two-time league MVP Breanna Stewart ruined Clark's regular-season home debut by scoring 31 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 102-66 win in front of a sellout crowd of 17,247.
"I think this is how you want everything to be, you want a sellout crowd like this," Stewart said. "It gives you a little bit of a playoff atmosphere feel because usually in the playoffs, the games are sold out. We might be changing our terminology if we're just going to continue to set the precedent of sellouts home or away."
Clark's presence has seemingly changed everything about women's basketball — except the wins and losses for Indiana, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2016 is now 0-2 in the Clark era.
This game was the most anticipated Indianapolis debut for a rookie since Peyton Manning with the NFL's Colts in 1998, but things didn't go according to plan against the Liberty, last year's league runners-up.
Clark picked up three fouls in the first half and a fourth early in the third quarter. When she went to the bench early in the second quarter, she took out her frustrations on a towel. At one point, after a Fever miscue, she flipped the ball over her head to the ref.
Clark finished with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists but showed some progress by finishing with three turnovers — none after the first quarter — which was a dramatic improvement over the 10 she had in Tuesday night's season opener on the road against the Connecticut Sun. Clark was 2-of-8 from the field on Thursday, including just 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.
The NCAA's all-time leading scorer was known for her long-range shooting while helping the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back national runner-up finishes the past two years.
"I have great perspective on everything, and I think the same is true of my college career," she said before the game. "There were some moments that were absolutely amazing, and there were some moments where I was not happy with how I played and how I performed and how my team performed. But that's just life. That's just basketball."
Clark did not speak with reporters after the game, though she did two lengthy interview sessions earlier Thursday.
Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones each scored 14 points for New York, which has won eight straight over Indiana. Jones also had 10 rebounds.
Indiana center Aliyah Boston, the league's rookie of the year after being the No. 1 pick in 2023, had a game-high 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Fever came away looking to do more to help Clark.
"People are playing her aggressively, and we can do a better job of trying to help her get some space and get free," Indiana forward Katie Lou Samuelson said. "We want her to keep fighting. We want to keep figuring out the best way to work with her and, like I said, I think we can continue to help her."
The Liberty didn't just make life difficult for Clark, they made things tough for everyone in an Indiana uniform.
Stewart helped New York seize control by taking a 25-16 lead after one quarter. When the Fever cut their deficit to 32-27 midway through the second quarter, Stewart answered with four straight points to spur a 12-0 run that gave the Liberty a 44-27 cushion late in the first half.
Indiana finally responded by closing the third quarter with 12 straight points, the first seven coming courtesy of Clark, to make it 67-56 entering the final period. And then the reigning Eastern Conference champs opened the fourth quarter on a 12-0 spurt and cruised to their second straight victory.
Still, there's no sign of the buzz Clark has brought wearing off.
Indianapolis is quickly becoming a favorite destination for her former teammates and coaches. Ex-Hawkeyes guard Gabbie Marshall showed up and posed for a photo with her longtime friend after Clark's first home preseason game last week.
On Thursday, the entourage included former Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder, who announced her retirement Monday, and new Hawkeyes coach, Jan Jensen, who had been Bluder's longtime assistant.
Clark's next opportunity for her first WNBA win will come with a chance at revenge as well. The Fever and Liberty head back to New York on Saturday for a rematch.