In their fourth and final meeting of the 2024 WNBA season, the Indiana Fever came back from a 13 points deficit to defeat the Chicago Sky, 100-81. Fever rookie star Caitlin Clark had her 11th double-double, scoring a career-high 31 points to lead all scorers, adding 12 dimes.
With the victory, the Fever controlled and won the season series, 3-1.
“I thought we played really well, and this was a big one for us,” Clark said. “It almost counts towards two when you’re in a playoff race, like a loss and a win. We knew it was a big one, but also, we wanted to win the season series with them. That was kind of a focus point.”
As expected, the game drew a sellout crowd of 9,445 to Wintrust Arena on Barbie Night, a nod to Angel Reese’s college nickname at LSU, Bayou Barbie. The crowd included 19-year veteran and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal who also attended LSU, Sue Bird, who had her own Barbie doll during her Seattle Storm playing days, and soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
The Sky came out of the gate strong and aggressive, trying their best to snap a 4-game losing streak. They were able to race out to a 21-9 lead midway through the first quarter and looking like they might blow the Fever out of the arena. But Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, who have been of fire as of late, had other plans and helped Indiana slice the margin to 26-23 at the end of the quarter.
Clark knocked down a 3-pointer to knotted the game at 29-29 and followed that up with another shot from the perimeter for the lead. The Fever took control from there, soon building a 10-point advantage. Chicago kept the game close throughout the third quarter, but Angel Reese and Michaela Onyenwere each collected four personal fouls, which hand strung the Sky’s defensive effort.
Clark hit 5-of-9 3-pointers and went 10-for-11 from the charity strike. Mitchell followed with 23 and NaLyssa Smith added 14 points with seven boards. Hull continued her hot shooting from downtown, knocking down 3 of 4 attempts, and finishing with 11 points.
Embed from Getty Images“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.”
Reese scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her 23rd double-double of the season, breaking the WNBA record for a rookie previously held by Tina Charles. Onyenwere led the Sky with 20 points and Lindsay Allen added 19 with four rebounds and six assists. Kamilla Cardoso got 10 rebounds.
“We can go up or we can go down,” Reese said. “We don’t want to continue to lose. It’s not a good feeling for any of us.”
The Sky were without leading scorer Chennedy Carter (17.2 points per game), who missed her second-straight game due to health and safety protocols. Chicago also missed Carter’s stifling defense against Clark, though Diamond DeShields appeared to try with a hockey check on the Fever star late in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided.
Indiana improves its record to 16-16, reaching the .500 mark for the first time this season and leapfrogging the Phoenix Mercury for the No. 6 seed in the WNBA standings. The Fever went 3-0 vs. the Mercury this season, winning a tiebreaker. Since the Olympic break, the Fever are 4–1 and have won eight of their past 11 games.
“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.”
Chicago falls to 11–20, holding a slight lead over the Atlanta Dream for the No. 8 seed, and final playoff spot in the league. The Sky have dropped five of six since the month-long Olympic break.
Both the Fever and Sky play next on Sunday. Chicago has a matchup with the Minnesota Lynx at 3 p.m. ET, while Indiana faces the Dallas Wings at 4 p.m. ET.
