Only a game into the season, Caitlin Clark has a triple-double to her credit and the Indiana Fever have a win. The Fever will look to build off the quick start as they host the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.
Indiana (1-0) rolled to a 93-58 win on Saturday in their opener over the Chicago Sky. Despite Clark racking up 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, much of the talk after the game surrounded a foul by Clark on Sky forward Angel Reese in the third quarter.
Reese reacted strongly and the foul call on Clark was ultimately reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul. Reese and Indiana forward Aliyah Boston were each assessed technical fouls for post-play behavior.
Boston had 19 points and 13 boards as the Fever cruised. Indiana shot 46.7 percent overall while holding Chicago to just 29.1 percent.
Indiana’s DeWanna Bonner climbed to third on the WNBA’s career scoring list with seven points. But defense was the focus after the game.
“I thought we were disruptive,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “I thought we came with a level of physicality. … We played through multiple levels of effort and that’s what it takes.”
In its own opener, Atlanta (0-1) fell 94-90 at Washington on Friday.
Returning Dream All-Star Allisha Gray had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Veteran free agent addition Brittney Griner had 18 points and eight boards in her Dream debut.
However, Atlanta allowed Washington to shoot 50.8 percent from the floor, including 9-for-18 from 3-point range, which led to a 53-point second half for the Mystics.
Dream coach Karl Smesko found plenty to remain positive about.
“I’m actually really optimistic,” Smesko said. “There’s a lot of good things out there and I can see the makings of a really good team.”
–Field Level Media