Caitlin Clark’s return from a long layoff was successful as Team USA wrapped up their FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers undefeated, with the Indiana Fever guard emerging as the most efficient player on the team.
The American women’s basketball team beat Spain by 34 points on their final day in San Juan, Puerto Rico, officially qualifying for the World Cup in Germany this September. They defeated all of their opponents by an average margin of 46 points.
Clark was the second-best scorer on the team, averaging 11.8 points per game, behind Phoenix Mercury star Kahleah Cooper, who posted 12.8 PPG. She also led the team in assists with 4.8 per game. Overall, she was the most efficient player on the squad (14.6 efficiency), despite starting only one game.
The World Cup Qualifiers were Clark’s first competitive action since she began missing WNBA games in July of last year. She was eventually shut down in September due to a leg injury.
Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The two-time All-Star made her first Instagram post since before the start of the qualifiers to celebrate her return. She wrote:
“Fun being back out there 🇺🇸⭐️
“Always an honor💙 “
WNBA stars, teammates, and friends celebrated with her.
“The besttttt😍🤩🤩,” three-time All-Star Aliyah Boston wrote.
“SO FUN WATCHING YOU,” her former Iowa Hawkeyes teammate Sydney Affolter commented.
Her new Fever teammate Bree Hall is just as happy, “soo glad to have you back 🙂↕️🔥”.
Lexie Hull’s comment stood out as she chose to joke around about Clark’s jersey number choice.
“12 looks good on you. Trying to be Stanford me I guess,” she wrote.
Hull likely missed Clark. Next up for the generational star is a return to Fever practice as the WNBA gears up for a “transformative” future. The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, raising the salary cap to $7 million from $1.5 million last year.
“I think this can be summed up in two words: player empowerment … players coming to the table and standing on business and being reminded of the collective voice and of what it means to be in a union and the power of this union,” WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said.
“They never forgot it, and they have taken it, like they always do, to the next level.”
Related: Caitlin Clark WNBA Development Causes a Stir
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
