Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese both make yet more WNBA history
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese dominated in college basketball, and now the pair keep making history in the WNBA.
On Sunday, Clark led the Indiana Fever to a 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm and broke another league record in the process.
In addition to scoring 23 points, the 22-year-old also recorded her 225th assist which saw her pass Ticha Penicheiro’s record for the most assists by a rookie in WNBA history, which was set in 1998.
“To pass somebody like her, I’m just forever thankful. She’s been such a legend in our game. It’s super cool, but hopefully there are a lot more of those,” Clark – who leads the league with 8.3 assists per game – said after the game.
The historic moment came in the second quarter of the game and was welcomed by Penicheiro in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Records are meant to be broken…it shows growth and evolution. Can’t think of a better player to break it,” Penicheiro wrote, while the Fever posted a video of the former WNBA star congratulating Clark, who finished the game with nine assists and 232 total on the season.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced the game had an average TV audience of 2.2 million viewers, making it the most watched WNBA game ever on ABC, which like ESPN is owned by Disney.
The assist record is the latest of a string of achievements from Clark’s first WNBA season, where she has already become the first rookie in league history to record a triple-double, and marked another milestone by dishing out 19 assists in a single game.
But just like in college, Clark’s brilliant performances are being matched by her rival Reese.
Also on Sunday, the Chicago Sky rookie racked up 19 points and 20 rebounds in an 86-68 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to record 20 double-doubles in a single season.
Reese – who leads the league in rebounding with 12.3 per game – has reached the total after just 27 games and is now just two double-doubles shy of matching Tina Charles’ record for most double-doubles in a rookie season, set in 2010, according to ESPN.
Earlier this season, the rookie had broken the record for most consecutive double-doubles in WNBA history.
With the WNBA now back in full-swing after the Olympic break, both Clark and Reese will hope to lead their respective teams into the postseason.
Clark’s Fever (13-15) will face the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday in its next game, while Reese’s Sky (11-16) will play the Connecticut Sun on Friday.
It seems that the more the superstar rookies play, the more records will fall this season.
The-CNN-Wire
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