Caitlin Clark is back—and she looks healthier than ever. Clark and the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty, 109-91, in their 2026 preseason opener at Barclays Center, an exhibition game in which neither team was at full strength as players continue to get healthy and return from offseason leagues.

In Clark’s first taste of of WNBA action since July 15, the superstar guard got off to a red-hot start with a pair of early buckets but then noticeably cooled off. She wasted no time sinking her first WNBA three in months and flexed her strength on the court, yet she was still looking for her shot for the majority of the game. Without Aliyah Boston on the floor, who was held out for cautionary reasons, Clark didn’t show much of her elite court vision and lacked her usual frontcourt passing option. Clark finished with seven points, three rebounds and four assists in 16 minutes; she shot 2-of-10 from the field and went 1-of-5 from three. She also didn’t commit any turnovers.

Though Clark wasn’t able to make the most of her minutes, several of her Fever teammates did. Kelsey Mitchell, who cemented herself in Indiana history as the franchise’s first million-dollar player earlier this offseason, put up a team-high 18 points. Sophie Cunningham impressed as well with 13 points and went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Fever’s No. 10 pick of the 2026 WNBA draft, Raven Johnson, may have been the brightest spot from Saturday’s win in her dazzling preseason debut: Johnson logged six points, three rebounds and a game-high eight assists in 17 minutes while adding two blocks and one steal. It’s just one game, but the former South Carolina point guard more than proved she could get it done on both sides of the court.

Even Johnson’s old coach Dawn Staley shared a special message praising the young guard following the Fever’s preseason victory: “You are and have been built for the moment. Elite defender. Check! Elite PG. Check! Elite playmaker. Check! I am filled w joy & proudness watching you play!”

With her first preseason game in the books, Clark will look to get some more reps in the Fever’s final two exhibition matches before kicking off Indiana’s hopeful title-contending campaign in a few weeks. Catch up on all the action from the Fever’s win over the Liberty in Sports Illustrated’s live blog below.

Fever vs. Liberty Takeaways: Caitlin Clark returns to WNBA action after injury-plagued seasonMore WNBA from Sports IllustratedAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow