CNN —
Indiana Fever rookie phenom Caitlin Clark made WNBA history by becoming the first rookie in league history to record a triple-double in the team’s 83-78 win over the New York Liberty on Saturday.
The Fever star reached her historic stat line when she grabbed a defensive rebound off a Kayla Thornton miss with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Clark finished with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for the first triple-double in Fever history.
“Obviously it’s been great, my teammates have been scoring really well and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit for my assist numbers,” Clarke said after the match.
“Honestly, I’m happy we won. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do for this team.”
After losing their first three games against the WNBA’s best Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Fever overcame an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to go on an 11-0 run late to win.
Clark’s latest feat came one day after Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese extended her single-season double-double record with 12.
The former Louisiana State University star’s 12th consecutive double-double tied the record set by WNBA great Candace Parker in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Having competed against each other in a number of memorable matches throughout their collegiate and early WNBA careers, Clark and Reese’s latest battle is for Rookie of the Year honors, with both being the clear favorites.
Both Reese and Clark were recently named WNBA All-Stars.
It’s the first time since 2014 that two rookies have been selected as WNBA All-Stars in the same season.
“I’m always going to defend my players,” Fever head coach Christy Sides said of Clark after the game, “First of all, she’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met. I liken her to Diana Tualasi. She’s always looking for ways to get better.”
“She just wants to win. She just wants to win. She’ll be Rookie of the Year for me every day.”
Reese was named the WNBA Rookie of the Month for June, while Clark was named Rookie of the Month for May. The WNBA teams will face the U.S. Women’s Basketball National Team in a sold-out game on July 20 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Clark has always drawn big crowds during her time in the WNBA. On Tuesday, 20,366 people watched her Fever team’s 88-69 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, the fifth-largest attendance in league history and the largest since 1999.
The Fever currently sit as the eighth seed in the playoff race, half a game behind Reese’s Chicago Sky for the seventh seed.
