CHICAGO — That sound the Phoenix Mercury heard was Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever zooming past them in the playoff race.
Clark scored a season-high 31 points, one better than her previous mark, and the Fever moved up to 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 as the Mercury, the tiebreak is head-to-head meetings and the Fever swept their three games against Phoenix this season.
‘It’s honestly impressive how we started the season and, now, sitting at sixth place with eight games left,’ Clark said, referring to Indiana’s 1-8 start. ‘But you have to continue to execute down the stretch.’
There is a lot of the season left, of course. But given how Indiana started the season, and the favorable schedule they have over the remaining three weeks, Clark and the Fever have to feel pretty good about where they stand. Only three of the Fever’s last eight games are against teams with winning records, and only two are on the road.
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 sold-out crowds almost 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 it.
WNBA legend Sue Bird and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal were on hand, as were players from the Chicago Bulls and Bears. With an average price of $334 as of Thursday morning, it was the most expensive game in WNBA history, according to TickPick.
Knowing the interest there’d be for this game, the Sky used it to host the WNBA’s first Barbie-themed night.
But Clark and the Fever spoiled the party with their lopsided win. It was Indiana’s third victory in a row and fifth in its 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 focus point,’ Clark said. ‘Last time here, we were up 15 in fourth quarter and kind of fumbled it away. So it was another opportunity for us to come in here and show what we’re about. And I thought we were really good.
‘And, honestly, I just had a lot of fun playing. I thought we played with a lot of joy.’
Caitlin Clark stats
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 on the season. She’s also had a triple-double.
But the stat that will surely please Clark the most is her three turnovers. That’s just one off her season low.
‘She did an excellent job taking care of the ball,’ Fever coach Christie Sides said. ‘That’s just the growth. That’s things we weren’t doing earlier. And now she’s recognizing those things.’
Indiana’s next game is Sunday, at the Dallas Wings.