close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream stats
    news

    Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream stats

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    What started out as a terrifying night ended in a victory for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

    The star rookie overcame an early injury as her team beat the Atlanta Dream 84-79 on Monday night. Clark had 19 points.

    Just seven minutes into the game, Clark was trying to get through a screen when she appeared to twist her left ankle, immediately falling to the ground and screaming in pain.

    Clark remained on the ground holding her left ankle. Training staff came to the court to help her, but she walked to the Fever bench on her own. Her ankle was examined on the bench during a timeout and when play resumed.

    Clark did not go to the locker room and remained on the bench as the quarter ended. The injury did not appear to be too serious, as she was back in the game at the start of the second quarter and scored on Indiana’s first possession of the frame.

    Clark’s injury scare aside, it was a big night for Indiana. The Fever opened the game on an 8-0 run to take a lead they never relinquished. Aliyah Boston established her dominance in the paint early and Kelsey Mitchell continued to shine on the offensive end. Indiana led by as many as 18 points.

    Despite falling out of the playoffs, Atlanta was one of the best teams since the end of the Olympic break. The Dream had won their first three games in August before losing to the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.

    But the Dream are one of the league’s worst offensive units, and their problems were on full display Monday. Atlanta ranks last in the WNBA in points per game (75.8) and field goal percentage (41%), and the team shot 37% against Indiana. The Dream made a late push in the fourth quarter, cutting it to a two-point game and having a chance to tie it in the final seconds but unable to score. Indiana is now 3-0 on the year against Atlanta.

    Mitchell was the night’s leading scorer with 29 points. Boston also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

    Of course, the Caitlin Clark effect is still high. The Dream plays its home games at the 5,000-capacity Gateway Center Arena. But with Clark and company in town, the team moved the game to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, which has a capacity of just under 17,000.

    The arena was packed and demand was so high that it was sold to standing room only. The Dream announced that 17,608 people attended the game, making it not only the largest crowd for a Dream game, but also the highest-attended WNBA game in the state of Georgia.

    Caitlin Clark Statistics

    Clark finished the night with 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, one block and two turnovers. She shot 6-for-14 on the night and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. With her four made 3-pointers, Clark now has 85 made 3-pointers in her rookie season, tying Dream guard and 2022 first overall pick Rhyne Howard for most 3-pointers made by a rookie.

    Clark also moves up the list for most points in a WNBA season by a rookie, with 539, which ranks 15th behind Seimone Augustus, who scored 744 points with the Minnesota Lynx in 2006.

    The win makes it three wins in the last four games for Indiana, which has now won three of its last four games and is 14-16 on the season. The Fever currently sit in the No. 7 seed in the WNBA, which would secure their first postseason berth in eight seasons. Indiana’s next game is Wednesday night against the Connecticut Sun.

    The USA TODAY app gives you quick access to the most important news. Download for award-winning reporting, crosswords, audio stories, the e-newspaper and more.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like