SEATTLE (AP) 鈥 Caitlin Clark intends to play Wednesday night despite a stiff and sore left ankle when the Indiana Fever open a road trip in Seattle against the Storm.
Clark in the first half of Monday鈥檚 loss to Connecticut, but returned in the second half.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about what you鈥檇 expect when you turn it like that. I feel like I鈥檒l definitely be ready to go and ready to play," Clark said. "Luckily I鈥檝e dealt with some ankle injuries before so it鈥檚 nothing really out of the ordinary.鈥
Clark missed the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half against the Sun after injuring the ankle on a screen. She returned in the second half and finished with 17 points and five assists, but with the 88-84 loss.
Clark said she plans to tape up the ankle and hope the adrenaline will help get rid of any lingering soreness.
She鈥檚 also hoping a return to Seattle can spark the Fever. Wednesday鈥檚 game against the Storm will be the third time Clark will play inside Climate Pledge Arena. She played two games here with Iowa during the 2023 NCAA Women鈥檚 Tournament, including a 41-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist against Louisville that sent the Hawkeyes to the Final Four.
Clark said seemed to be the start of the latest surge in notoriety and attention that has followed women鈥檚 hoops.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 kind of when the fandom of Iowa women鈥檚 basketball really started and you kind of started to see women鈥檚 basketball really take off,鈥 Clark said. 鈥淚鈥檇 never been to Seattle in my life and then coming here we didn鈥檛 really know what to expect, we didn鈥檛 know how our fans would travel, we didn鈥檛 know really much. But just to see the support of women鈥檚 basketball, whether it was us playing, whether it was other teams playing, I think that was the biggest thing when I came here and noticed that.
鈥淭his arena was packed. There wasn鈥檛 a seat that was open coming here and I felt like that weekend was definitely a step forward for women鈥檚 basketball.鈥
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