Chicago -The sound that the Phoenix Mercury heard was the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark racing past them in the playoffs.
With a 100-81 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday night, the Fever advanced to sixth place in the eight-team playoff bracket behind a season-high 31 points from Clark, one more than her previous best. The tiebreak is head-to-head encounters, as the Fever won all three of their games versus Phoenix this season, despite having the same 16-16 record as the Mercury.
Regarding Indiana’s 1-8 start, Clark remarked, “It’s honestly impressive how we started the season and, now, sitting at sixth place with eight games left.” “But you have to continue to execute down the stretch.”
Of course, there’s still a lot of the season remaining. However, considering how Indiana began the season and their advantageous schedule for the next three weeks, Clark and the Fever should be pleased with where they are right now. The Fever have played eight games in a row, and just three of those games have been away from home against clubs with winning records.
The last time the Fever qualified for the playoffs was in 2016, during Clark’s first year in high school.
This season, Clark and the Fever have virtually everywhere played to sold-out audiences, but Friday night’s game was particularly memorable. The attention mirrored the rivalry that has grown into one of the strongest in the WNBA this season between Clark’s Fever and Angel Reese’s Sky.
In attendance were players from the Chicago Bulls and Bears, as well as WNBA great Sue Bird and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. It was the most expensive game in WNBA history, with an average price of $334 as of Thursday morning, according to TickPick.
The Sky utilized this game, anticipating high interest, to organize the WNBA’s first Barbie-themed night.
However, the celebration was ruined by Clark and the Fever’s crushing victory. Indiana has won five of its previous six games and three of the previous four. Additionally, after winning three of their four encounters, it handed the Fever the season series victory against Chicago.
“We wanted to win the season series with them, that was kind of a focus point,” Clark explained. We kind of threw away a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter the last time we were here. Thus, it was an additional chance for us to visit this location and showcase our mission. And I felt we were excellent.
Quite frankly, I was just having a great time playing. I felt that we had a lot of fun when we played.”
Caitlin Clark figures
With 31 points in the end, Clark had her third 30-point performance of the year. She made 8 of 14 free throws, 5 of 9 of which came from 3-point range. With her 12 assists, she achieved her 11th double-double of the year. In addition, she has a triple-double.
But her three turnovers are the stat that will undoubtedly make Clark the happiest. She’s only one away from her season low.
Christie Sides, the coach of the Fever, commented, “She did a great job taking care of the ball.” That’s only the expansion. We weren’t doing those things before. And she’s starting to notice those things now.”
