UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It always starts with the long lines outside the arena’s entrance, and then the crunch of bodies leaning over the railings above the tunnel that leads onto the court.

A day at the office for Caitlin Clark, in this case the last she will spend in Connecticut for the foreseeable future with the Sun franchise relocating, begins with the unconditional adulation of her legion of fans. She obliges, as she did Saturday night, signing as many No. 22 jerseys and cards as the pregame moments allowed.

Always eventful, never routine, are these forays into Clark’s world. The first sellout of the “Sunset Season,” 8,910, showed at Mohegan Sun, where a season ticket holder can recoup a big chunk of the cost if they’re willing to part with the seat for Indiana’s visit. When these games begin, they play more like a neutral site game and things start to get complicated. Clark poured in eight points early as the Indiana Fever surged out to a lead, then the Sun players did what they are paid to do, make the most talented player on the floor as uncomfortable as possible. The refs did what they are paid to do, try to keep the game under control.

Before Clark finished this game with 25 points, five 3-pointers and the Fever came away with a win, 85-75, she was involved in two technical fouls in the final minutes, the first eventually ruled a team foul for delay of game, the other, her fourth T of the season, as she waved goodbye and made a shush gesture toward Sun coach Rachid Meziane.

“The (second) technical, I didn’t need an explanation,” she said. “I deserved it. But it was worth it. The delay of game made no sense, I felt that (referee) Tyler (Mirkovich) wanted to insert himself into the game and that was ridiculous. Not a point in the game you needed to call that. The ball went off my foot, off the scorer’s table and they gave us a delay of game, a team technical foul.”

So Clark blew off the steam that comes with the heat of competition, all eyes in the arena on her, to get that second technical with 22 seconds left and the Fever up 10. By then, teammate Sophie Cunningham had come off the bench to deliver the knockout blows, 11 points in the final 2:06, as the last-place Sun (2-12) were once again fiercely competitive, not overmatched, but not good enough to win.

These were the routine basketball storylines Saturday, but Clark, 24, ceased to be a routine basketball story long ago, long before she left Iowa. She is a cultural phenomenon, a lighting rod, the spark that has caused a spike in popularity for the WNBA. She is as intensely competitive and defiantly combative as she is remarkably talented, and as wise folks often say in so many words, you can’t change iconic stars into exactly what you want them to be. This is what she does, this is how she does it and you take or leave all that comes with it.

Stephanie White, the former Sun coach who moved to Indiana, seems to have a handle on it — even as Clark’s on-court fire is sometimes directed at her. Clark was reminded that her WNBA debut came at Mohegan Sun, on May 14, 2024, that whatever the inconveniences there are in playing at the casino, away from big cities, there are also a couple of Krispy Kreme outposts on site. On that day, she scored 20, but turned it over 10 times and lost. Later, she returned and lost a playoff series to end her rookie year. On those occasions Clark went out of her way to praise White, who had done some of her college games for TV, for her “great basketball mind.” So presumably Clark was on board with the Fever front office in hired White away from Connecticut after she led the Sun to the semifinals that year, and any sideline tension between them now can be filed under “heat of the moment.” All good. The Fever (8-5), trending toward playoff contention and Clark is averaging 19.9 points, 8.1 assists. She came to Connecticut off a 32-point performance in a win at Chicago.

“Oftentimes, us as human beings, our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness,” White said, as she headed back to her locker room. “It’s one of her strengths. The emotion is what allows her to be who she is, it’s what captivates the fans, it’s what makes her play exciting. Certain times it could be channeled a bit differently, of course, but that’s true of all of us. And what we all do at 21, 22 and 23 is much different than what we do when we’re a little bit later in life, but it’s one of the things that makes her special.”

Clark hit 10 of 17 from the floor Saturday, 5 of 10 on threes as the Fever built an 11-point lead and, though the Sun wouldn’t go away, held on. Clark had five assists, but turned the ball over six times as Connecticut’s guards, especially Leila Lecan, pressured relentlessly. Lecan had four steals and, characteristically, Clark was looking for fouls to be called throughout the game. A few times she pushed Lecan off her, sometimes getting a whistle one way, sometimes the other. All in her day’s work.

“It was pretty much what I expected,” Clark said. “They’re aggressive. Their guards are really good. They’re long and athletic. (Saniya) Rivers and Lecan, I expected those two to be on me most of the time. Lecan’s going to try to wear you out, pick you up full court, pick you up 94 feet. We could probably take care of the ball a little bit better, specifically me.”

But if the Sun, or any other team, can slow Clark down, frustrate her, keep her from making basketball look as easy as she did in college, containing or stopping her is a far different matter.

“(Lecan) did what she had to do against one of the best players in the world,” Meziane said. “Don’t give her space, time to shoot. She ended up scoring 25 points, but they were not easy shots, not comfortable shots. I just think sometimes (Lecan) has to adjust her level of aggressiveness, to step back a little bit. But that’s a good experience for her.”

At the end, this long day at the office for Clark was largely satisfying. It ran the gamut, the full Caitlin experience — a win, a few dozen autographs, a lot of buckets, some pushing and shoving, a little aggravation, and her wry goodbye gestures before she left the court and the casino complex for the last time.

“That’s competition,” White said. “We say all the time, you’ve got to be somebody different between the lines. You’ve got to be a different beast between the lines. Often times, as women, fans don’t want that the same way they do if you’re a man playing a sport, so there’s a different standard at times. Again, it’s one of the things that makes her special.”

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