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Caitlin Clark had a career-high 31 points and 12 assists in her final regular-season matchup with fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese, leading the Indiana Fever to a dominating 100-81 win over the reeling Chicago Sky on Friday night.
Clark shot 8 for 14, including 5 for 9 from 3-point range, in her 11th double-double. She is the only player to ever have three games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season.
On the other side, Reese had 10 points and 11 rebounds, breaking a tie with Tina Charles for rookie double-doubles with 23 and passing Sylvia Fowles for the Chicago season record. Reese got the record with 1:32 to play, long after Clark and the other Indiana starters left the game. She also has a rookie record of 399 rebounds.
Clark may have slammed the door on the much-hyped Rookie of the Year race as the Fever (16-16) beat the Sky (11-20) for the third time in four matchups, solidifying their probable playoff berth while Chicago is barely hanging on to the last spot as the season winds down.
The first matchups were decided by a total of 10 points with a pair of one-point wins for each team while this one became a blowout. Indiana had a season-high for points and Chicago allowed a season high.
The game drew a sellout crowd of 9,445 to Wintrust Arena on Barbie Night — a nod to Reese’s college nickname at LSU, Bayou Barbie. The crowd included NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal, as well as Sue Bird — who had her own Barbie doll back in her Seattle Storm playing days — and soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, her sixth-straight game of at least 20 points, for the Fever, who are 5-1 since the Olympic break. NaLyssa Smith added 14 points and Lexie Hull had 11.
“I think we just understand each other a lot better,” Clark said of the current stretch. “Having the chemistry and having the time to play with one another you just build confidence. I think you’re seeing that. ... I’m proud of this group. We’re been sharing the ball, we’re taking good shots and that’s helping our transition game and it helps us on defense, too.”
The Fever were outrebounded 42-31 but had 28 points in the paint and shot 48.5% with 26 assists on 32 baskets.
Michaela Onyenwere scored 20 points to lead Chicago, which is 1-5 since the Olympic break. Lindsay Allen had 19 and Rachel Banham had 14. The Sky were without Chennedy Carter (17.2 points a game), who missed her second-straight game because of health and safety protocols.
With Allen scoring scoring eight quick points, Chicago scored 11 straight and turned that into a 15-1 run to open a 21-9 lead. But Indiana closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run of its own to trail 26-23. The Sky had four of their season-high nine 3-pointers in the first quarter
“Minus the first six minutes of the game, I thought we were really good. We played sound defense,” Clark said. “I’m just proud of this group. I thought we battled and we didn’t let it get close at the end and that was kind of the problem last time we were here. We let them come back, we know they’re a really good fourth-quarter team, but we battled and figured it out.”
Clark then opened the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers to put the Fever up. Ultimately their run was 34-12, good for a 10-point lead on Mitchell’s 3-pointer. Chicago clawed back to 47-41 at the break, pending a Reese free throw to open the second half as the result of a technical on Aliyah Boston, upset at a no-call, as the half ended.
She made the free throw and it was a five-point game entering the second half.
The Fever got the lead to 11 early in the third quarter but the Sky stayed close until Damiris Dantas hit a 3-pointer and Hull made two free throws after a hustle-play offensive rebound as time expired. It was 76-64 heading into the fourth quarter as Smith had 11 points in the third.
The lead reached 27 before Chicago closed with a 10-2 run.
Had Caitlin Clark made her debut before or after Angel Reese, we would probably be talking about the Chicago Sky rookie as the best of the year. She's had considerable performances throughout the season and she even was considered the ROY favorite when things weren't working out for Caitlin Clark. This evening was the most important challenge for Reese, she either stayed in the Rookie of the Year conversation or Caitlin Clark confirmed her status as the main favorite for the award. On Friday, the Indiana Fever rookie gave a scoring masterclass by dropping a whopping 31 points while Angel Reese just scored 10 and recovered 11 rebounds. It was a big win for the Indiana Fever with an impressive 100-81 result.
Angel Reese complains about the ref calling in Caitlin Clark's favor
After the game, Angel Reese was obviously angry for losing and she said something that made her seem like a sore loser. She claimed that Caitlin Clark gets treated differently by the referee and gets more calls in her favor. This is classic behavior from a pro athlete who absolutely hates losing. On the positive side, this fired up is exactly how we need to have a player as talented as Angel Reese for the rest of the season. Starting next season, she will be even more fired up if Clark wins Rookie of the Year. But don't worry this is only the start of what promises to become one of the greatest rivalries in sports history.
Imagine a few years from now when these two rookies are already familiarized with the WNBA, how their rivalry will be then. Together, they are already changing the WNBA for good but this is only the start of something truly historic. In the standings, none of both teams seem to be strong enough to make it far in the WNBA playoffs. The Indiana Fever reached a 16-16 record while the Chicago Sky have an 11-20 record. They both share the Eastern Conference and they stand third and fourth in their sector, respectively. Tonight, the biggest battle was for ROY and we all know who came out on top. Debate, is over.