INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark ended practice Friday by making a halfcourt shot and winning a little bit of lunch money in the process.
And with that, the Indiana Fever star is ready to play again.
Clark — barring any unforeseen setbacks — is expected to be in the lineup when the Fever play host to the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty on Saturday afternoon. She missed the last five Indiana games with a quadriceps injury.
“As long as we don’t have any regressions, she’s going to be ready to roll,” Fever coach Stephanie White said.
Clark returned to practice this week, and her comeback game just happens to be a nationally televised one against the Liberty — the defending champs and, at 9-0, the last unbeaten team left in the league this season. New York is winning its games by an average of 19 points.
“I’m really excited," Clark said. “I think it’s definitely been a process. I think the hardest part is when you like begin to feel really good and then it’s just a process of working yourself back into actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates.”
The halfcourt shot at the end of practice was the kicker of a friendly competition, and Clark (who says she rarely wins the halfcourt contests) did wave a few dollars that she won around afterward — in case anyone needed a reminder of her shooting range.
The Fever (4-5) went 2-3 in Clark’s absence. She was averaging 19 points, 9.3 assists, six rebounds and 1.3 steals per game when she got hurt. There's still a long way to go this season, but no player in WNBA history has ever finished a season averaging that many points, assists, rebounds and steals per game.
Clark freely acknowledges that she’s not a patient person, but she understood the process and why it was important to not skip any steps in her recovery. Among the treatments: “anything under the sun,” she said, including everything from massage to weights to hyperbaric therapy.
“It was certainly a learning opportunity, and I think it’s going to benefit me a lot throughout my career, just falling back and understanding certain moments like this,” Clark said. “But I’m super, super excited. I’m antsy to get out there and probably shake off a little bit of rust and then play.”
Clark's return is the latest bit of big basketball news in Indianapolis, along with the Indiana Pacers going into Friday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals leading the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1. Clark and many other Fever players were at Game 3 on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the same court where they’ll be taking on the Liberty on Saturday.
Even though Clark and the Fever have an early game Saturday, some — Clark included — plan on at least seeing some of Game 4 on Friday night.
“It’s incredible. It’s incredible,” White said when asked about the energy around basketball in Indianapolis right now. “As someone who grew up in the state of Indiana and as the saying goes, ‘This is Indiana.’ And so, the energy’s incredible. It’s such a fun time to be in the city."
The Fever are also expected to have guard Sophie Cunningham (ankle) back for the game against the Liberty on Saturday. Cunningham has averaged 6.5 points in four games so far this season.
“It’s really reintegrating two of our top six players, right? Reintegrating them back into the system," White said. “Some of the things that we run will look different than without Caitlin on the floor, certainly. Sophie's versatility and being able to play in multiple positions ... it is like starting Day 1 again.”
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Caitlin Clark, center, waves from her seat during the first half of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, right, and guard Sophie Cunningham celebrates on the bench in the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Washington Mystics in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indian Fever basketball players Caitlin Clark, right, and Aliyah Boston watch during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
NEW YORK (AP) — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn't sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.
“I didn't know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”
Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won fifth straight games following a a six-game losing streak.
Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.
He spent 2023 and ’24 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.
He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multi-homer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.
“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”
“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.
A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder's glove.
“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned," Tucker said. "I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”
Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.
“The fan just beat to the spot," Crow-Armstrong said. "He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”
Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.
“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”
Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.
He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.
“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.
“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it," Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood."
Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.
He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger's teammates could sense the significance.
“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger (35) hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts after lining out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
