Caitlin Clark's spectacular run comes to a close. Now, she'll take time to reflect

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — With four minutes left in what would become the last game in one of the most remarkable 11½ months any athlete has ever had, Caitlin Clark nailed one last exquisite 3-pointer. The furious rally she had orchestrated had arrived at a most unexpected place: her Indiana Fever had taken the lead, 71-70, over the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series.
What exactly were we watching here? Would Clark pull off what so many of us had seen her do in college at Iowa, reaching two consecutive NCAA finals while becoming the leading scorer in Division I history, women’s and men’s? And again over the past four and a half months as a rookie pro in Indiana, overcoming a brutal early schedule and dreadful start to lead the Fever to a surprising berth in the playoffs?
Was Clark about to will another team to an improbable victory and send this series to a decisive Game 3?
The answer this time was no, not quite. Not this time. The Sun ended up being just too good, just too experienced and just too unrelenting, defeating the Fever, 87-81.
But when Clark hit that three, and again nearly a minute and a half later, when she found Aliyah Boston underneath for a layup that put the Fever up by two, 75-73, with 2:41 left in the game, anything seemed possible for this 22-year-old who has captivated the nation with her high-wire act on the basketball court.
Instead, the most unexpected and spectacular nearly-year-long run in women’s sports history is over. From Iowa’s outdoor exhibition game in Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 15, 2023 to Wednesday night: All the records, all the historic TV ratings, all the unprecedented sellouts: it’s done. Clark is now finished playing basketball in the public eye. She most likely will be gone until next May. It’s a really strange thought, isn’t it?
If many of us think this will take some getting used to, imagine how Clark feels.
“It's definitely different for me,” she said after the game. “Basketball has really consumed my life for a year, so I feel like it'll be good for me to kind of reflect back on everything that's happened. I feel like I didn't even have time to really reflect on my college career, because it ended so fast, and then I came here and was trying to give everything I could to this team and kind of move on and put all that behind me and help this team get back to the playoffs.
“So I feel like taking some time for myself and really enjoying that and reflecting back. And, you know, it was special. There were a lot of things that this group accomplished that a lot of people probably didn't think was possible after the start we had to the season. So it'll definitely be a little weird for me over the course of the first couple weeks. And then I'm sure I'll get bored and pick up a basketball again.”
Clark led all scorers with 25 points, with nine assists and six rebounds. It was an evening of great heights for her and in the end, a sad low.
“Obviously, it's a tough one, especially because we climbed all the way back in and definitely had our opportunities late, and then a few different miscues, and it's back to a two-possession game,” she said. “We couldn't quite get over the hump there. … It’s a good little taste of what's possible for this organization and for this franchise. And there's a lot for us to hold our heads high about. We're a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, but we came together and had a lot of fun playing with one another.”
Then she grew a bit wistful. “That's sometimes the worst part of it is like you feel like you're really playing your best basketball. Then it has to end but like I said, proud of this group. We stayed resilient all year and had a lot of fun together.”
It was natural to ask Clark what was next. It’s the first time in awhile we haven’t known the answer to that question. We knew exactly what was next back in April, after she took Iowa to the NCAA final, losing to South Carolina. Eight days later, she became the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
So now?
“I was focused on beating the Connecticut Sun,” she said. “I haven’t thought too far down the line. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to do the next day. Maybe play some golf. That's what I'm going to do until it gets too cold in Indiana. I'll become a professional golfer.”
Boston, standing in for Clark’s millions of fans, had the last word on that idea.
“Not too much,” she said. “Keep it basketball.”
Editor’s note: Christine Brennan is writing a book on Caitlin Clark and the revolution in women’s sports to be published by Scribner in spring/summer 2025