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Caitlin Clark · On numerous occasions during their first elimination game since 2016, the Indiana Fever were offered opportunities to merely appreciate 2024’s storybook campaign, and adjust their sights to a brighter-than-ever future. One circumstance showed a double-digit hole in the final nine minutes; another presented a seven-point deficit with five to play. Instead, Indiana turned to its All-Star rookie in a display that said: if Caitlin Clark is within shooting range, then so is any comeback attempt. Temporarily surviving Connecticut’s best shot, the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year frees herself for a handoff, immediately recognizing Veronica Burton and Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s double team intent from a mile away. Promptly reacting by taking her dribble to the opposite wing, Clark turns to a subtle, go-to stepback 3-pointer, supplying Indiana a once-unlikely lead with four minutes remaining. A must-see marvel from the moment her sneakers first took Connecticut’s hardwood in mid-May, Clark, even in defeat, was breathtaking during her first-ever elimination game on September 25, 2024. Closing the curtain to her rookie campaign stylishly, Clark offered 25 points, six rebounds, nine assists, one steal, one block, and three 3-pointers, becoming the first postseason rookie — WNBA or NBA — to reach said points-rebounds-assists marks since 1980. · State of Mint