Caitlin Clark Outduels Angel Reese, Carter, Impresses WNBA Fans as Fever Win vs. Sky
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVJune 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark got the better of Angel Reese in the newest installment of their budding rivalry.
The Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 91-83 on their home court to improve to 5-10. The Sky fall to 4-9 with the loss.
Clark had 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting and flirted with a triple-double, hauling in eight rebounds and dishing out nine assists.
Reese, meanwhile extended her double-double streak to six games with 11 points and 13 rebounds, adding five assists, two steals and one block.
Across the Timeline @WBBTimelineThat last bucket makes this Angel Reese's 6th consecutive double-double (11 PTS, 13 REB), tying the record for a first-year WNBA player.<br><br>Cindy Brown, 1998: 6 in a row<br>Tina Charles, 2010: 6 in a row<br>Angel Reese, 2024: 6 in a row<a href="https://t.co/ktjNNJhu59">https://t.co/ktjNNJhu59</a>
The No. 7 overall pick was assessed with a flagrant 1 foul in the third quarter for striking Clark across the head while attempting to contest her layup.
Reese subsequently picked up her fifth foul with 8:08 left in the fourth quarter, which limited her usage down the stretch.
The Fever dropped nine of their opening 11 games, which was due in no small part to an exceptionally brutal start schedule-wise. They've already played the New York Liberty three times and their first meeting with the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces was on the second half of a back-to-back.
Now, the schedule is leveling off a bit, and the effect is evident in Indiana's performance. NaLyssa Smith, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell all scored in double figures along with Clark, and the Fever shot 56.5 percent from the field as a team.
Nobody is benefiting from the added time off more than Clark, who wasn't afforded any sort of offseason thanks to Iowa's Final Four run. Between her individual output and the connection she's forging with Boston, this is closer to what fans expected coming into the year.
The positive momentum should continue to build in Indianapolis. The Fever host the 2-12 Washington Mystics on Wednesday before embarking on a five-game road trip that begins with winnable matchups against the Atlanta Dream and Sky.
You better have gotten your jokes in at Clark and Indiana's expense already because the team might be turning the corner.