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Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky stats

Vaseline August 31, 2024

CHICAGO — The sound the Phoenix Mercury heard was Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever speeding past them in the playoff race.

Clark scored a season-high 31 points, one better than her previous mark, and the Fever moved into sixth place in the eight-team playoff field with a 100-81 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday night. Though they have an identical 16-16 record to the Mercury, the tiebreaker is a head-to-head matchup, and the Fever swept their three games against Phoenix this season.

“It’s really impressive how we’ve started the season and now we’re in sixth place with eight games to go,” Clark said, referring to Indiana’s 1-8 start. “But you’ve got to keep executing in the final stretch.”

There’s still a whole season to go, of course. But given how Indiana started the season, and the favorable schedule they have for the remaining three weeks, Clark and the Fever should be feeling pretty good about where they are. Only three of the Fever’s last eight games have been against teams with winning records, and only two have been away games.

The Fever haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, when Clark was a freshman in high school.

While Clark and the Fever have played to sell-out crowds nearly everywhere this season, Friday night’s game was something special. The rivalry between Clark’s Fever and Angel Reese’s Sky has developed into one of the WNBA’s best this season, and the interest reflected that.

WNBA legend Sue Bird and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal were in attendance, as were players from the Chicago Bulls and Bears. With an average ticket price of $334 on Thursday morning, it was the most expensive game in WNBA history, according to TickPick.

Sky knew there would be a lot of interest in this game and therefore organized the first WNBA Barbie-themed night.

But Clark and the Fever spoiled the party with their lopsided victory. It was Indiana’s third straight win and fifth in the last six games. It also gave the Fever the season series over Chicago, having won three of their four meetings.

“We wanted to win the season series with them, that was kind of a focal point,” Clark said. “Last time here, we were up 15 points in the fourth quarter and we blew it. So it was another opportunity for us to come here and show what we’re all about. And I thought we were really good.

“And honestly, I just had a lot of fun playing. I thought we had a lot of fun playing.”

Caitlin Clark statistics

Clark finished with 31 points, her third 30-point game of her rookie season. She was 8 of 14 from the floor, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. She also had 12 assists, giving her an 11th double-double of the season. She also had a triple-double.

But the stat that will please Clark most is her three turnovers, just one off her season-low.

“She’s done a great job taking care of the ball,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “That’s just the growth. Those are things we weren’t doing before. And now she’s recognizing those things.”

Indiana’s next game is Sunday against the Dallas Wings.