Caitlin Clark announces her return from injury with 3-point barrage vs. Liberty

When it was announced that Caitlin Clark would make her return for Saturday's Indiana Fever game against the New York Liberty, the WNBA world was thrilled. Everyone wanted to see how Clark and the improved roster around her would fare against the clear WNBA title favorites. Well, if there were any doubts, Clark came out firing.

Late in the first quarter, Clark knocked down not one, not two, but three consecutive three-pointers, eventually turning what was a six-point deficit into a tie game. These weren't just ordinary three-pointers either, they were bombs.

It didn't matter if Clark was dribbling the ball up the court, if she shot off the catch, or if there was a defender in her face. She was shooting, and she was making her shots. This would be impressive for any game, but Clark doing this in her first game action in a couple of weeks shows why she's so special.

Caitlin Clark announces emphatic return with three-point barrage

In the first half, Clark scored 25 points, 18 of which arrived on six three-point shots on eight total attempts. Overall, Clark made 9-of-13 shots from the field. She scored nearly half of Indiana's 53 points, and practically willed the Fever to a three-point lead heading into the break.

It would've made sense if Clark got off to a bit of a sluggish start. She missed substantial time due to injury, and her first game back was against the league's best defense when going by points against per game. Instead, she played one of the best halves of her career, and has the Fever in position to potentially hand New York its first loss of the season.

There's a reason Clark is as popular a player as she is. I mean, how many basketball players, not just WNBA players, can do what she just did? She drilled three straight three-pointers from nearly half court against the best team in the WNBA in the span of 38 seconds, coming off an injury. I mean, I know she's playing, but she probably isn't even at 100 percent yet!

What's Caitlin Clark's career-high for three-pointers in a game?

Clark's three-point barrage has some wondering what her single-game record is. To the surprise of nobody, her electric first half has her extremely close to catching it already.

Clark's career-high for threes in a game is seven, set in a game in mid-June of last season against the Washington Mystics. Clark went 7-for-13 from behind the arc and scored 21 of her 30 points from downtown. It turns out that the Fever needed every single one of those points, as they won that game by only two points.

For the Fever to have a chance against the Liberty, Clark might need to break her single-game record. Doing so sounds fairly easy on paper since she's only one away from tying her career-high, but the Liberty will surely key in on her defensively and attempt to make anyone else beat them. It'll be interesting to see if she can do it. Doubting her at this point would be foolish, though.