Clark has faced criticism for her early struggles since quickly transitioning to the WNBA after being the No. 1 overall pick in the recent draft. However, several WNBA players are now defending her.
New York Liberty veteran Jonquel Jones commented postgame, “I think the media needs to give her a little bit of grace and time to develop into a player. She’s learning every game as she’s out there. Obviously her impact on this league is going to be tremendous and only grow as she matures. But just give her some time, man. Look at Kelsey Plum and how it was for her when she first came into the league and the player that she is now. Just give her some grace.”
Reigning WNBA MVP and former UConn star Breanna Stewart echoed similar sentiments about Clark’s rookie season.
“Obviously when you come into this league and you’re the No. 1 pick, everyone’s going to know where you are on the court at all times,” Stewart said. “She’s looking to make that pocket pass — that’s going to be the growth of this team over the season is them figuring out what the right spots are depending on what defenses are going to do. I think us up here, it’s respect. Obviously we know she’s a great player and just trying to do whatever we can to make it tough.”
In her first three WNBA games, Clark has averaged 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 40% from the field and 32.1% from three-point range. These stats are lower than her final season at Iowa, where she averaged 31.6 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 37.8% from deep.
The Indiana Fever (0-3) will next play against the Connecticut Sun (2-0) on Monday night, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
During her four-year college career at Iowa, Clark set numerous records and became a household name. Women’s college basketball saw a significant rise in popularity this past season, largely due to star players like Clark. Iowa drew record TV ratings for the Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship games. Clark became the all-time leading scorer for any NCAA Division I player, surpassing Lynette Woodard with 3,951 career points.
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