Caitlin Clark carved up the Washington Mystics on Friday night at Capital One Arena.
The No. 1 overall draft pick exploded for 30 points and netted a career-best seven 3-pointers on 13 attempts against the Mystics in an 85-83 Fever victory, Indiana’s third win of the season.
The University of Iowa product came within two treys of the WNBA’s single-game record set by Seattle Storm All-Star Jewell Loyd in 2019 and later tied last summer by fellow Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell.
The effort from Clark came on the heels of a career-worst performance, where she scored just three points in a 1-for-10 shooting display against the New York Liberty on Sunday.
“It felt good to shoot the ball well,” Clark said after the game, according to the Associated Press. “I feel like even my misses were right there.”
The 30 points on Friday also tied a personal best she set in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 28 in which she finished with 30 in a loss.
Clark’s previous career-high in 3-pointers made was four, which she had done twice in the WNBA.
Clark’s full line Friday also included eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and eight turnovers.
Clark had 20 of her 30 points in the second half, where the Fever outscored the Mystics 42-40.
Now with her third pro win, Clark said it’s been tough playing this many games in a short stretch.
Indiana started the year with 11 games in 20 days.
“All of us would say that’s just not ideal,” Clark said. “It’s not an ideal way to play basketball. I think you could see the exhaustion on our faces — more mentally than probably physically.”
The loss drops Washington to 0-11 on the season.
They Mystics are still the only WNBA team without a victory this year, and Friday, they were four-point underdogs at home against the Fever.
The Fever will look for win No. 4 on Monday, though they have an uphill battle against the league’s best defense in the Connecticut Sun, who — at 9-0 — are the only unbeaten team left, and have already beaten the Fever twice.