INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark opened the season with the third triple-double of her career, and the new-look Indiana Fever dominated the final 16½ minutes Saturday to pull away from the revamped Chicago Sky 93-58.
Last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while blocking a career-high four shots. Aliyah Boston added 19 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, while Natasha Howard scored 15 points in her Fever debut.
DeWanna Bonner also scored seven points to move into third on the WNBA’s career scoring last, passing Tina Thompson. Bonner now has 7,489 points.
Angel Reese had 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting and added 17 rebounds for the Sky, who lost in Tyler Marsh’s head coaching debut. Newcomer Ariel Atkins added 11 points.
But the game’s defining moment was the newest chapter in the Clark-Reese rivalry. This time, it came on a hard foul from Clark across Reese’s arm, which jarred the ball loose and knocked Reese to the floor with 4 minutes, 38 seconds left in the third quarter. When Reese took exception to the foul and jumped up to confront Clark, Boston stepped between the two players as Clark walked away from the skirmish.
The referees upgraded Clark’s foul to a flagrant 1 and assessed technical fouls to Reese and Boston following a replay review.
“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said after the win. “It was just a good play on the basketball. I’m not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that’s up to their discretion. It’s a take foul to put them at the free-throw line. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”
Still, it’s hard to ignore the obvious — that the fray added another chapter to the rivalry that has captivated women’s basketball. It dates to their college days, when Reese helped lead LSU to a 102-85 victory over Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the 2023 national championship. Clark won the rematch in spring 2024, a game that drew 12.3 million television viewers.
Less than eight weeks later, they were squaring off in the WNBA in the first of four matchups. The Fever took three of those contests, many featuring hard fouls. In the end Clark helped Indiana make the playoffs and the Sky came up short as Reese missed the final two weeks of games with a season-ending wrist injury.
Now this. Reese’s analysis of what happened?
“A basketball play,” she said without elaborating.
When a follow-up question was asked later in the interview, a team spokesman cut her off, saying Reese had already answered the question. And when Marsh was asked about his thoughts, he paused before repeating Reese’s answer.
The Fever had a little more to say.
“Nobody’s going to get anything easy against us,” new coach Stephanie White said. “We’re going to be a tough defensive team. I thought it was a clear play on the ball as well. One of the points of emphasis is we can’t give up. But I thought it was a clear play on the ball.”
Boston may have been the most surprised, not even realizing she had been called for the technical until after the game. She reacted by putting her hands on her face, looking surprised and asking if she really had drawn the technical.
But the calls clearly changed the game.
When Reese missed the first of two free-throw attempts, Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted in cheers. She made the second, though, and veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot scored on a layup on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to 56-45.
Then the Fever closed the third quarter with nine straight points to extend the margin by 20 and never let the Sky pull closer than 18 the rest of the way as they matched the second-largest victory margin in franchise history.
“I went for the ball, clear as day in the replay,” Clark said. “You watch it, you know it shouldn’t have been upgraded. Again that’s up to the refs’ discretion, but I appreciate AB having my back.”