INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark was back on the floor when the Indiana Fever opened the third quarter Friday against the Dallas Wings after going to the locker room late in the first half.
Clark came down on the foot of Alysha Clark during the second quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. She stayed in for a stretch while moving with a limp before checking out and heading directly to the locker room.
Indiana never needed to announce an injury designation for what Clark was dealing with since it didn’t keep her out for a meaningful amount of time. Her return came when the Fever put their starting group back on the floor for the third quarter.
Dallas went into halftime with a 37-35 lead. Kelsey Mitchell scored on a fast-break layup early in the third to tie it at 37 with 9:17 remaining.
Caitlin Clark Returns After Strong First Half
Clark went to the locker room with a team-high 9 points for Indiana. She also had 3 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 3-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. Clark missed each of her 4 attempts from 3-point range.
The Fever guard entered Friday already listed as probable because of a back injury.
Clark had played in 29 of Indiana’s first 33 games, averaging 21.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 30.4 minutes. She came into the night shooting 44.3% from the field, 36.1% from 3 and 85.6% at the line.
Her previous game came Tuesday against the New York Liberty, when she had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists in a 106-92 win.
Aliyah Boston was also probable Friday because of a lower right leg injury. Damiris Dantas was out with a left knee injury. Dallas was without Azzi Fudd because of a right knee injury, Jessica Shepard because of a right ankle injury, and Aziaha James because of a lower left leg injury.
Fudd missed her fourth consecutive game, Shepard her second straight, and James did not travel with the Wings for the road trip.
Dallas Wings Take Lead Into Halftime
Paige Bueckers paced Dallas with 12 points before halftime on 6-of-13 shooting. She added 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Odyssey Sims had 11 points and made 3 of 6 from behind the arc. Awak Kuier went into the break with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Arike Ogunbowale had 3 points and 5 rebounds.
The Wings were already missing three players. Azzi Fudd was out for a fourth straight game because of a right knee injury. Jessica Shepard missed her second consecutive game with a right ankle injury, and Aziaha James did not make the trip because of a lower left leg injury.
Indiana entered Friday at 21-12, while Dallas came in at 20-14.
The teams meet once more during the regular season on Aug. 20 at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.
