The college rivalry has evolved into a professional WNBA brawl between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. While they are no longer the colours of Iowa and LSU, their new teams have found a way to make their rivalry on the court more entertaining. The Chicago Sky faced the blazing-hot Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena, and their battle of the buckets went down to the wire. After the home team won 88-87, a rookie spoke up and expressed her excitement.
“I’m a dog, you can’t teach that,” Angel Reese remarked.
Rightfully, the Sky rookie led her team in two of the important statistical categories throughout their victory. Reese converted eight of her twelve field goal tries. She also shot 9 for 11 from the charity stripe for 25 points. Furthermore, she had a crazy night of ruling the boards. Even NaLyssa Smith and Aliyah Boston couldn’t stop her from racking up 16 total rebounds. Three of them also provided the Sky second chance possessions, putting the Fever in serious risk later on.
Angel Reese’s drive, which resulted in a basket at the 53-second mark to put the Sky ahead 86-84, made the largest difference. Overall, her game was strong versus Caitlin Clark’s Fever. While she was forced to make some mistakes, such as three turnovers, these growing pains will most likely be resolved in the future.
The Sky had a lot of depth in this matchup. They were joined by another rookie, Kamila Cardoso. The 2022 and 2024 national champion also recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Her playmaking in the post also helped the Sky collect three assists. Chennedy Carter finished off the Sky’s scoring leaders with 23 points. Her bucket-getting skills also helped her go 8 for 12 on the pitch.
The fight was violent, but what happened on the opposite end of the floor?
Fever’s Caitlin Clark delivers an offensive masterclass against the Sky.
The plan was to get everyone involved in the match against the Sky. So Clark did precisely that, playing the role of floor general for 40 long and hard minutes. She recorded 13 assists in this game, a career high in that statistical category.
However, because of the way the Sky’s blitzes functioned, she found it difficult to score. Clark only scored 11 points in the first three quarters, but decided to clutch in the fourth to finish with 17 points for the night. She went 5 for 9 from the field, with all of her baskets coming from three-point range.
She excelled on both offence and defence. The Sky had a difficult time judging their passing lanes due to Clark’s incredible ability to steal the ball. She had four steals in the game, which ties her career high. While this is a setback for her team, there is plenty to look forward to as she develops into a two-way star in the WNBA.
