Caitlin Clark's rookie season ends with Fever's loss to Sun

Caitlin Clark's historic rookie season ended on Wednesday with the Indiana Fever losing 87-81 to the Connecticut Sun, ending a 2-0 loss in the first round of the playoffs.

Clark scored 25 points, six rebounds and nine assists in the loss. She played all 40 minutes and made 10 of 23 field shots, including 3 of 12 three-pointers.

Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with 19 points.

Clark hit a step-back three-pointer to give the Fever a 71-70 lead with four minutes left, but he was held scoreless the rest of the game. Connecticut finished the game with a 17-10 run.

The Sun will play either the Minnesota Lynx or the Phoenix Mercury in the next round – their sixth consecutive trip to the semifinals.

For Clark, it was an eventful game that went beyond her performance on the field.

In the first quarter, she asked security to deal with a violent fan.

She also had an exchange with Connecticut forward DeWanna Bonner.

Indiana's elimination ended an impressive streak from Clark. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game and was named to the All-WNBA first team, leading the Fever to their first postseason berth since 2016. Clark was also unanimously voted Rookie of the Year.

Her 337 assists in the regular season were not only a rookie record, but also the WNBA record for assists in a season. She was the first rookie to record a triple-double, and she also set the record for most 3s made by a rookie in a single season.

On July 17, Clark recorded 19 assists in a loss to the Dallas Wings, a WNBA single-game record.

Clark also had an outsized influence on the league off the field.

By mid-season, she had the best-selling jersey in the league, while Fever jersey sales had increased by over 1,000%.

More than 640,000 fans have watched the Fever live this season, more than any other team in WNBA history. According to the Associated Press, the average attendance at Indiana games was 88% higher than any other game.

Game 1 between the Fever and Sun, meanwhile, averaged 1.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game since 2000. According to Michael Mulvihill, a Fox executive, ratings for Clark's games were nearly 200% better than all other games.

After playing her final collegiate game in April, Clark's professional career began the following month of May. Her upcoming offseason will be her first extended break since her junior year with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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