Caitlin Clark addresses latest WNBA drama surrounding her
USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan asks Caitlin Clark about all the extra attention she’s been receiving since joining the league.
It’s time for Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese part 3.
In what has become one of the most intense rivalries in the WNBA, the Indiana Fever (7-10) will face the Chicago Sky (5-9) for the third time this season – but the first time in Chicago – on Sunday afternoon. Ticket prices for the matchup between two of the league’s biggest young stars have soared as fans in Chicago finally get to see Clark and Reese battle in their home arena.
USA TODAY will have all the latest news and highlights from the game at Wintrust Arena. Follow along for live updates.
CHICAGO — The stars came out for the first game in Chicago between the Sky and the Indiana Fever.
Chance the Rapper, who became a Sky fan during their title run in 2021, was sitting courtside next to Jason Sudeikis, who was sporting a WNBA sweatshirt. Sudeikis is a well-known Caitlin Clark fan, having attended multiple of her games both at Iowa and since she joined the NBA.
Also in attendance: Mary Dillon, CEO of Foot Locker; Arne Duncan, the former U.S. Secretary of Education; and Craig Robinson, brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama. — Nancy Armour
Indiana Fever: 82
Chicago Sky: 82
This section is updated during official timeouts and at the end of each quarter.
CHICAGO — Whether she’s at Iowa or in the WNBA, no record is safe around Caitlin Clark.
Clark has 13 assists – so far – against the Chicago Sky, an Indiana Fever record. She dished out the record setter on a laser to Aliyah Boston that Boston then laid into the basket. — Nancy Armour
Through three quarters, Clark notched a double-double in the Fever-Sky matchup. She notched 11 points and 13 assists in the game. That set a career high.
Clark also picked four rebounds.
CHICAGO — The Indiana Fever are threatening to break this game open, thanks to big third quarters by Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell.
Boston had seven and Mitchell had 12 in the period, including a rare four-point play with 1:31 left to give Indiana a 72-57 lead, its largest of the game. But Angel Reese converted a three-point play and then made a pair of free throws in the last minute to keep Indiana from running away with it.
With one quarter left to play, Indiana leads 72-64. — Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — That’s eight double-doubles in a row for Angel Reese.
Reese had 10 points and 10 rebounds midway through the third quarter to extend her own WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles by a rookie. She added five points and a rebound by the end of the third quarter to bring her game totals to 15 points and 11 boards. — Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — Chennedy Carter looked to be in some pain after she and NaLyssa Smith collided hard under the basket with 6:27 left in the third quarter. She clutched her back and rolled back and forth as her teammates surrounded her. She was able to walk off the court on her own, however, and was back on the floor to shoot the free throws after a timeout. — Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — Fans who were fortunate enough – or who paid enough – to get a ticket to this Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game are getting their money’s worth.
Aliyah Boston had all eight of her points in the second quarter and the Fever have a 46-45 lead over the Sky at the half. Chennedy Carter leads all scorers with 15 while Angel Reese is closing in on her eighth consecutive double-double with eight points and eight boards.
This game was the toughest ticket in WNBA history, according to TickPick, and it hasn’t disappointed. It’s been an energetic, back-and-forth contest, without too many miscues. Though there’s a healthy contingent of Clark fans here for her first game in Chicago, including superfan Jason Sudeikis, the Sky fans are heard anytime Carter, Reese or Marina Mabrey scores or grabs a rebound. — Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — Chennedy Carter is at the center of the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky once again.
This time, however, it’s for her offense.
Carter, who delivered the hip check heard ‘round the world in the first meeting between the teams three weeks ago, led all scorers with 11 points as the Sky took a 28-26 lead after the first quarter. Kelsey Mitchell has 10 for the Fever, going 2 of 4 from 3-point range.
Caitlin Clark also has a pair of 3s while Angel Reese has four rebounds. — Nancy Armour
The Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
The Fever vs. Sky game is available for streaming on ESPN+ and Fubo.
The game will also be available on demand on WNBA League Pass upon its conclusion. Fans can get League Pass by downloading the WNBA app.
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Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever Sunday at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. local). The game is at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Caitlin Clark has played 17 games so far in the 2024 WNBA season, through June 21, and has started each one.
Clark is averaging a team-high 16.2 points and a team-high 6.2 assists along with 5.4 rebounds per game. Clark is shooting 39.6% from the field, 3.8% from 3-point range and 89.9% from the free throw line. She also leads the Fever steals (1.4), turnovers (5.6) and minutes per game (33.4).
Angel Reese has played 14 games so far in the 2024 WNBA season, through June 20, and has started each one.
Reese is averaging 12.4 points, a team-high 10.8 rebounds and a team-high 1.9 steals per game. Reese is shooting 38.6% from the field and 75.3% from the free throw line, while adding 2.1 assists per game.
Caitlin Clark helped the Fever win their fourth consecutive game, leading a balanced attack Friday night in Indiana’s 91-79 road win over the Atlanta Dream.
Clark, one of five Fever players in double figures, scored 16 points and added seven assists and four rebounds as Indiana led wire-to-wire. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft hit 6-of-12 field goals and knocked down 4-of-8 3-pointers.
Clark, in her 17th game, surpassed 100 assists in her young career and tied legendary point guard Sue Bird as the third-fastest player to reach that milestone. – Ellen J. Horrow
To experience Caitlin Clark as a topic on the internet and to experience her playing basketball in real life are two very different things.
On social media sites, she is a blank canvas for bad-faith actors to push agendas and stir discord. But in person, she’s doing what the world’s most online sports fans seem to hate the most.
She’s making more people enjoy watching sports. There’s a disconnect between how people are experiencing the Clark phenomenon online and what’s actually happening – as they were in Atlanta on Friday night when a lot of real human beings paid real money to fill an arena that even some very good NBA teams have struggled to sell out in years past.
Read more about Caitlin Clark in Dan Wolken’s column.
Angel Reese recorded her seventh straight double-double Thursday to power the Chicago Sky over the Dallas Wings 83-72. Reese scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds to set the WNBA rookie record for most consecutive double-doubles. It broke the mark she shared with Tina Charles (2010) and Cindy Brown (1998).
Reese is the only rookie this season to be averaging a double-double. In the Sky’s first 14 games, she’s had just one that she has not reached double digits in either points or rebounds. She also leads the entire league in offensive rebounds (68). – Nancy Armour
All those folks who doubted whether Angel Reese’s game would translate to the WNBA must feel pretty silly these days.
Reese’s transition has been seamless, however. Or she’s made it look that way, anyway. Reese isn’t just Chicago’s most productive player, either. She’s been its most dependable, too. In 14 games with the Sky, she’s scored fewer than 10 points only twice. There’s been just one game where she failed to reach double figures in either points or rebounds.
“I knew coming into the league what I was going to bring,” Reese said after Thursday’s win over the Dallas Wings. “I don’t really care about outside things. I knew my game was going to translate because I rebound and I play hard. I play hard all 40 minutes and you can’t teach that. You can’t teach that dawg mentality.”
Read more about Angel Reese in Nancy Armour’s column.
The Indiana Fever are 2-0 vs. the Chicago Sky in the 2024 WNBA season, winning both games in Indianapolis. The Fever scored their second win of the 2024 WNBA season and their first home win on June 1 when they beat the Sky 71-70. On June 16, the Fever beat the Sky 91-83.
Following today’s game, the teams will play one more time in the regular season: Friday, Aug. 30 in Chicago.
CHICAGO — Blame Justin Timberlake for why the Fever-Sky game was such a tough ticket.
Timberlake played at the United Center both Friday and Saturday nights, which meant it was unavailable even if the Sky had wanted to move the game to take advantage of the massive interest in it. The United Center seats roughly 20,000 while Wintrust Arena, the Sky’s home arena, seats a little over 10,000.
“A little bit smaller of an arena so a harder ticket to get,” Caitlin Clark said before the game. “We were driving by and there’s just so many lines of people already trying to get in. So I think people are just really excited to see this matchup. It’s two WNBA teams right in the Midwest where I grew up, and I know how much they love women’s basketball in this area.
“You can just feel it driving up from the bus,” she added. “I think once everybody gets in the building, it will be special.”
Tickets for the Fever-Sky game were sold out long ago. With a get-in price of $271, it’s the most expensive ticket in WNBA history, according to TickPick.
The interest in the game, the first this season in Chicago between the teams, is not a surprise. Clark and the Sky’s Angel Reese have been linked since the 2023 NCAA championship game, when Reese taunted Clark after her LSU team beat Clark’s Iowa squad for the title. Their first meeting as pros only ratcheted up the hype, with the Sky’s Chennedy Carter knocking Clark over with a hip check off the ball that was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1.
Though Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said it’s too soon to call this a rivalry, it sure has all the makings of one.
“It’s going to be lit in here,” Reese said. “I love it for women’s sports because they haven’t had sold-out crowds in a long time. Being able to do this and being able to be here in this moment and continue to grow women’s basketball is what’s important to me.”
Don’t let the ‘fits fool you – the Sky and Fever are donning their super suits in just a matter of time.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the rest of the rosters for Sky and Fever arrived with some killer looks ahead of their matchup on Sunday afternoon. Of course, the only thing that matches their on-the-court dominance is their off-the-court style.
Caitlin Clark flirted with a triple-double (again) as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft helped the Indiana Fever win 91-83 for their second win over the Chicago this season.
Clark led all scorers with 23 points and also dished nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds. After a couple rough shooting games, Clark found a rhythm against Chicago, hitting her first three attempts and finishing 7 of 11 from the field; she also went 6-of-6 from the free throw line. – Lindsay Schnell
Angel Reese tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds in the 91-83 loss to the Indiana Fever last Sunday. But the league’s top offensive rebounder had to sit for a long stretch in the third quarter due to foul trouble and shot just 4 of 13 from the floor. – Lindsay Schnell
The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has carried over to the WNBA. The hype around their next matchup is resulting in record ticket prices.
The average purchase price of a ticket for the Indiana Fever at Chicago Sky game on Sunday is $271 on TickPick, making it the most expensive WNBA game on record, according to the ticket marketplace. The get-in price for the game on TickPick was $231 as of Thursday evening. Sunday’s contest is four times more expensive than the get-in price of $57 for their last matchup in Indianapolis less than a week ago. – Jordan Mendoza
All those folks who doubted whether Angel Reese’s game would translate to the WNBA must feel pretty silly these days.
Reese’s transition has been seamless, however. Or she’s made it look that way, anyway. Reese isn’t just Chicago’s most productive player, either. She’s been its most dependable, too. In 14 games with the Sky, she’s scored fewer than 10 points only twice. There’s been just one game where she failed to reach double figures in either points or rebounds.
“I knew coming into the league what I was going to bring,” Reese said after Thursday’s win over the Dallas Wings. “I don’t really care about outside things. I knew my game was going to translate because I rebound and I play hard. I play hard all 40 minutes and you can’t teach that. You can’t teach that dawg mentality.”
Read more about Angel Reese in Nancy Armour’s column.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
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