Indiana Fever phenom Catilin Calrk was sidelined for her team’s run to the WNBA semifinals last season with a nagging groin injury. All in all, Clark only appeared in 13 games last season, her first time missing game action due to injury since high school.
On Wednesday, Clark competed in an official capacity on the hardwood for the first time since suffering her groin injury, as she made her debut for the senior national team in the USA’s dominant win over Senegal.
“I was really just excited,” Clark said after the game, according to the Indy Star. “I’ve been preparing for this for a really long time, and was sick of just sitting on the bench, cheering everybody else on.
Like, obviously, (the injuries) probably taught me a lot about myself, but there’s nothing like getting to run around out there and have fun with a group that’s so talented and so great.”
“I think there were a couple of moments where I was like, sucking air,” Clark said of her conditioning with a laugh. “But I felt like I had my wind pretty well. I felt like I was playing really fast, and that was my main goal. I know that’s what I can bring to this team, is tempo and pace.”
Clark went for 17 points and 12 assists in just 19 minutes of game action.
“Different than maybe a WNBA game but, for myself, it was a nice way to kind of ease back into it,” Clark said, “and felt like I was effective when I was out there. But more than anything, it just makes me happy that I’m super sweaty right now and I got to play.”
“She brings this dynamic play to the offensive end, I mean, that goes without saying,” USA Basketball head coach Kara Lawson said of her point guard. “And as much as she is dynamic as a scorer, she’s one of the most dynamic playmakers in the world as well…
“So imagine being a dynamic playmaker, and then all of a sudden, you’re playing alongside all these other dynamic playmakers and finishers. I thought she toggled between the playmaking, the scoring really well tonight and looked pretty comfortable out there.”
Clark’s conditioning will be put to the test; the U.S. will play four games in the next six days, including on Thursday against host Puerto Rico.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.