Caitlin Clark struggled early in her WNBA debut before scoring 20 points in the Fever’s loss to the Suns.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — The Caitlin Clark era in the WNBA has officially begun, although it got off to a slow start.

Clark went scoreless for almost the first 15 minutes, before getting more comfortable and finishing with 20 points in Indiana Fever’s 92-71 defeat to the Connecticut Sun Tuesday evening.

She knows she will have to play better and that she has a lot to work on, but also understands that this is only the first match of her career.

“It was physical and obviously not the best start,” Clark said. “It was just a lot to learn.”

Clark said before the match that she wouldn’t get too caught up in her play in her first match.

“If something isn’t perfect, my life won’t end,” she said. “If, you know, we lose the game tonight, my life won’t end. I’m just going to learn from it and come back on Thursday and try to help us win.

One thing Clark will definitely want to improve is his turnovers. She had 10 out of 25 – many of them unconstrained.

“Some unusual things, like picking up the ball and traveling, running it off my foot,” she said. “A few things that, you know, need to be sharper.”

Clark got off to a very slow start as she missed her first four shots before finally get on the board midway through the second period. THE NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer stole the ball around the foul line and ran the length of the court before laying the ball down. Clark said before the game that she thought her first basket would come on a layup because it was a “high percentage” shot.

Clark then added two free throws and made a 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds left in the first half to finish the first 20 minutes with seven points, hitting two of his seven shot attempts.

She carried some of that momentum into the third quarter when she scored five of her points to try to rally the Fever, but it just wasn’t enough.

“We have to help him, it’s a better job getting back to the ball,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “We worked on this several times this week. We have to do a better job of getting someone to the ball.

Before his first basket, Clark struggled and got into trouble early. Her first shot was a shot toward the basket that bounced hard off the glass and into the hands of Aliyah Boston for a putback. Clark missed a runner in the lane, then his 3 from the left wing was just picked off. She had an assist on a basket and threw a great behind-the-back pass to teammate Boston, but last season’s Rookie of the Year was called for a moving infraction.

Meanwhile, Clark was cautioned for two fouls on the defensive end. The second drew loud boos from the sold-out crowd. The crowd gave the #1 draft pick a loud ovation when it was announced in the pre-match introduction.

Before the game, Clark admitted she couldn’t wait to make her WNBA debut. It was one of four league opening night games marking the start of the WNBA’s 28th season. New York, finalist of the WNBA finals, rallied to beat Washington 85-80 to start the evening.

She sat most of the day at the hotel and had to wait to take the field when her team arrived nearly two and a half hours before tipoff.

“I just want to go out and play,” she said. “I’ve had plenty of time to sit and think about it. It’s still exciting. It’s funny! … There’s just a different buzz in the air.”

Before even playing a WNBA game, Clark left her mark in the pros. The league’s draft saw record viewership and its No. 22 Indiana Fever jerseys were flying off the shelves. There were hundreds of fans walking around the arena wearing Clark jerseys and T-shirts.

Three WNBA teams have already moved their games to larger arenas to meet demand for tickets to see them play. Its Connecticut debut was a sellout — the first sellout for the Sun in a season opener since they played their inaugural game at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003 after moving from Orlando. There is also huge media participation with almost four times more certificates issued for this game than a normal Sun competition.

It was the second time Clark played to a sold-out crowd during her very young WNBA career. His preseason game in Dallas was also sold out. More than 13,000 fans also attended its only home preseason game.

Clark’s home debut will be Thursday, when the Fever host the New York Liberty.

“Our preseason game was great, doing it for real is going to be a lot of fun; It’s going to be loud,” Clark said. “Use the environment to our advantage.”

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