Caitlin Clark believes she is only "scratching the surface" after the Indiana Fever lost 87-81 to Connecticut Sun to end her hopes of finishing her rookie year with a WNBA Championship title. 

In the season-ending loss to the Sun, Clark scored 25 points, adding nine assists and six rebounds, becoming the first rookie to have pulled off a 25-5-5 game in the postseason. 

However, she was powerless to stop the Sun from clinching the best-of-three contest 2-0, despite the Fever leading the contest in the final quarter. 

But led by 19 points and 13 assists from Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut retook the lead late on to seal their progression to the semi-finals. 

Clark set regular-season records throughout the year for assists (337), points by a rookie (769) and three-pointers by a rookie (122) in her debut campaign.

Despite the season ending in disappointment, Clark has vowed to return even stronger next season. 

"The fun part is I feel like I'm just scratching the surface, and I'm one that's nit-picking every single thing I do," said Clark.

"I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my team-mates get even better, and I know there's a lot of room for me to continue to improve.

"I feel like I could continue to get a lot better, and before we know it, I'm sure we'll all be back here and ready for the next year."

The Sun will face the Minnesota Lynx in the play-off semi-finals while Clark will begin her off-season.

The Phoenix Mercury’s season ended Wednesday night with a 101-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of a first-round WNBA play-off series.

The loss may have also ended the illustrious career of Diana Taurasi.

The 42-year-old hasn’t officially said she will retire, but she alluded to retirement while addressing Mercury fans after the team’s regular-season finale last Thursday.

“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” she said from centre court.

If this was her final game, it caps one of the most decorated careers by an American basketball player.

As the winner of an incredible six Olympic gold medals, Taurasi secured her first gold at the 2000 Athens Games and her most recent at this summer’s Paris Games.

She also won three straight American collegiate national championships at UConn in 2002, 2003 and 2004, another three WNBA titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014, and six Euroleague championships.

Her entire WNBA career was spent with Phoenix after being selected first overall in the 2004 draft.

She made an immediate impact, winning rookie of the year honours in 2004 and was named league MVP for the 2009 season.

A 10-time all-WNBA first-team selection, Taurasi was named to her 11th WNBA All-Star Game this past season and would have almost certainly been chosen to more, but there were no All-Star Games in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016 or 2020.

She’s the WNBA’s all-time leader in points scored – about 3,000 more than the next-closest player in Tina Charles – the top scorer in the WNBA play-offs, and is the league’s all-time record holder in 3-pointers made.

Despite concluding her 20th season in the WNBA, she is still playing at a high level.

She averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the regular season before scoring 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in Monday’s 102-95 loss in Game 1.

Taurasi had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and three assists before fouling out with 2:34 remaining in Game 2.

She left to a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd before Napheesa Collier, who tied a WNBA playoff record with 42 points for the Lynx, came over to the Mercury bench for a brief handshake with her fellow UConn star.

If Taurasi ultimately decides to call it a career, she’ll be remembered as one of the greatest women’s basketball players in history.

Caitlin Clark lived up to the lofty expectations as one of the most highly touted rookies in WNBA history, and has been rewarded.

The WNBA announced Sunday that the Indian Fever star was unanimously chosen as the league's Rookie of the Year.

After a phenomenal collegiate career, Clark was the first pick of this year's draft and made an immediate impact on the court and also by helping the WNBA gain popularity worldwide.

She broke the league's single-season assist mark with 337 - including a WNBA-record 19 in one game - and scored the most points ever by a rookie with an average of 19.2 per game.

Clark, who finished fourth in MVP voting and was named to the AP All-WNBA first team, also helped lead the Fever to their first play-off berth since 2016.

She is joined on the all-rookie team by Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso of the Chicago Sky, New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich and Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.

The honours keep coming for A'ja Wilson.

The WNBA announced Sunday that the Las Vegas Aces star was unanimously chosen as the league's MVP.

This is the third time Wilson has won the award, after also being selected in 2020 and 2022, to become just the fourth player in league history to achieve the feat, joining Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson.

Wilson received all 67 first-place votes to join Cynthia Cooper in the league's inaugural 1997 season to win the award unanimously.

The MVP selection was the latest milestone for Wilson in the past few weeks.

She established the WNBA single-season scoring record on September 11, and four days later became the first player in league history to score 1,000 points in a season.

Wilson finished the regular season with 1,021 points, 451 rebounds and a league-high 98 blocks, for averages of 26.9 points, 11.8 boards and 2.6 blocks.

Tina Charles became the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder on Thursday, when the Atlanta Dream center recorded her 4,007th career board against the New York Liberty.

Charles broke Sylvia Fowles’ mark with an offensive tap-out in the first quarter of Atlanta’s 78-67 win.

Finishing the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds, Charles also broke Fowles’ record by recording her 194th career double-double.

Charles, who played six seasons with the Liberty from 2014-19, was honoured by the New York crowd during a video tribute. The New York native was inducted into the city’s Basketball Hall of Fame before the game.

Charles has averaged 9.3 rebounds over her 14-year career. She signed with Atlanta before this season after taking last year off.

Charles ranks second behind Diana Taurasi on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list.

The WNBA announced Wednesday it has awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Portland that will begin play in 2026.

Portland joins the California Bay Area and Toronto as new franchises set to enter the WNBA within the next two years, bringing the league to 15 teams. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025, with Portland and Toronto starting the following season.

The Portland franchise will be owned and operated by the Bhathal family, which paid $125 million for the club. Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor, while Alex Bhathal was named Alternate Governor. 

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicentre of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicentre of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home.

"We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organisation in partnership with the Portland community, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

The Bhathals also own the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns and are investors in the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Portland previously had a WNBA team, known as the Fire, that folded after three seasons in 2002. 

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicentre of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

Engelbert said in April the WNBA's goal is to expand to 16 teams by 2028, though it's unlikely the league adds another franchise before 2027.

A'ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a season in the Las Vegas Aces' 84-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

Wilson finished with 29 points and reached the 1,000-point mark on a pull-up jumper with two minutes remaining.

Wilson's latest milestone came just four days after she established the WNBA single-season scoring record, breaking the mark of 939 points set by Jewell Lloyd in 2023.

The Aces have won seven of eight games and own a one-game lead over the Seattle Storm for the No. 4 seed in the play-offs and home-court advantage in that series.

Wilson wasn't the only WNBA star with a memorable performance on Sunday, as Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 35 points in the Indiana Fever's 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings.

Clark also added eight assists and combined with Kelsey Mitchell to hit 12 of Indiana's 16 3-pointers.

Clark has already established a WNBA rookie record with 761 points, and her 329 assists are the most by any player in a single season in league history.

Caitlin Clark set the WNBA single-season record for assists with 320 in the Indiana Fever's 78-74 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night.

Clark scored all 18 of her points in the second half and finished with nine assists and eight rebounds. The rookie broke the mark of 316 set last season by Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun.

Clark was scoreless on 0 for 5 shooting in the first half and picked up her third foul when she was called for a charge late in the second quarter as the Aces took a 43-35 lead into the break. She scored 14 points in the third quarter to help the Fever trim a 13-point deficit to 60-57 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Clark has continued to make history throughout her first year in the WNBA, surpassing the single-season three-point record among rookies on Aug. 28. She also dished out 19 assists in a loss to the Dallas Wings in July, setting a single-game record.

Tom Brady has taken to social media to congratulate A'ja Wilson for breaking the WNBA record for most points scored in a single season on Wednesday.

The Las Vegas Aces star scored her 941st point in the competition this term late in the first half of Wednesday's game against the Indiana Fever, having entered the matchup 11 points shy of the record.

She beat Jewell Lloyd's 2023 mark of 939 points, with her big moment coming when she sank a jumper from the free throw line with 26.4 seconds left in the second quarter.

Wilson ended the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. She is averaging 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season. 

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady bought a minority stake in the Aces in March, and he took to X to hail Wilson in the aftermath of her achievement.  

"There are so many incredible players in the WNBA right now," Brady wrote. "But there's only one A'ja Wilson!"

Wilson responded to the NFL legend, simply telling him: "Appreciate you!"

Wilson still has four more regular-season games in which to improve on her historic haul, with another trip to Indiana the team's next assignment on Friday. 

A'ja Wilson now stands alone as the WNBA's leader for points scored in a single season.

The Las Vegas Aces star scored her 941st point late in the first half of Wednesday's game against the Indiana Fever to establish a new WNBA single-season scoring record.

Wilson arrived in Indiana 11 points shy of the record, and broke the mark of 939 points set by Jewell Lloyd in 2023 with a jumper from the free throw line with 26.4 seconds left in the second quarter.

The two-time league MVP came into the game averaging 27.3 points and 11.9 rebounds and went into half-time with 12 points and eight boards.

Wilson has plenty of opportunities to add to her scoring mark, as Las Vegas still has four regular-season games scheduled.

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese will miss the rest of the WNBA season with a wrist injury.

Reese was listed as questionable on the Sky’s latest injury report heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Wings.

“What a year. I never would have imagined the last bucket of my rookie season would be a 3 but maybe that was God saying give them a taste of what they will be seeing more of in Year 2 lol,” Reese wrote. “Through it all, I have showed that I belong in this league even when no one else believed. All I have ever wanted was to come into the W and make an impact. I can confidently say I have done that and will strive to keep doing so.”

Reese, the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft after a stellar career at LSU, finishes the season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds - the highest rebound average in league history. Reese also set the rookie record with 26 double-doubles - her last coming in a win over Los Angeles on Friday night.

Earlier in the season, Reese had 15 straight games with a double-double to break the league's record. She also set the mark for total rebounds in a season, passing Sylvia Fowles' mark.

Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese set a WNBA record for the most rebounds in a single season on Sunday when she pulled down 19 boards in a 79-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx.

Reese pushed her season total to 418 rebounds, surpassing Sylvia Fowles' record of 404 established in 2018 with the Lynx.

The 6-foot-3 Reese set another record Sunday by reaching 165 offensive rebounds this season to move past Yolanda Griffith, who had 162 for the Sacramento Monarchs in 2001.

Reese, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, added 17 points against Minnesota to post her 24th double-double and extend her league rookie record.

Before a sellout crowd of 9,445, Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 31 points to go with 12 assists in her final regular-season matchup with fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese to lead the Indiana Fever to a100-81 rout of the reeling Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Clark became the only player in league history with three games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season. She was 8 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 9 from 3-point range, in her 11th double-double.

Reese tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds, breaking a tie with Tina Charles for rookie double-doubles with 23 and passing Sylvia Fowles for the Chicago season record. Reese got the record with 1:32 remaining, long after Clark and the other Indiana starters left the game. She also has a rookie record 399 rebounds.

Clark may have locked up the top spot in the much-hyped Rookie of the Year race as the Fever (16-16) beat the Sky (11-20) for the third time in four matchups, solidifying their probable playoff berth while Chicago is barely hanging on to the last spot as the season winds down.

Caitlin Clark has again written her name into the record books following her latest performance for the Indiana Fever.

Clark, the first overall pick in this year's draft, has already set a number of benchmarks in her rookie WNBA season.

And that continued on Saturday even as the Fever lost 90-80 to the Minnesota Lynx.

Clark finished with 23 points and eight assists, and in doing so improved her seasonal tally to 520 points and 240 assists.

She is now the youngest player in WNBA history to pass 500 points and 200 assists.

Clark had already set a new record for assists in a rookie WNBA season, with her performances keeping the Fever on course for the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark is living the dream after she was chosen as the first pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.

The 22-year-old is stepping up to the professional league as the most successful college player in history, which has made her the new star of the sport.

She joins last year’s first pick Aliyah Boston – a former team-mate of hers in the United States Under-19s – at the Fever as the club try to revive their fortunes after again failing to reach the play-offs in 2023.

Clark said on the WNBA website: “I dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in.

“Obviously going to an organisation that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players (Boston) in the entire world.

“My point guard eyes just light up at that. And obviously, Aliyah has been one of my team-mates before. I’m excited. I can’t wait.”

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Fever head coach Christie Sides said on the club’s website: “Caitlin is one of the most naturally gifted basketball players I have ever seen enter the WNBA from the college level.

“Her shooting and passing abilities captivated an entire audience of basketball fans, and her ability to make those around her better was even more evident during her collegiate career.

“We can’t wait to bring her to Indiana and incorporate her into our locker room with a group ready to get back to the postseason.”

Clark’s Fever career kicks-off in the WNBA opener against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.