UPDATE: Indiana Fever GM Lin Dunn has weighed in on Saturday’s incident involving her player Caitlin Clark and how Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter fouled the popular phenom.
“There’s a difference between tough defense and unnecessary— targeting actions! It needs to stop!” Dunn wrote on X. “The league needs to “cleanup” the crap! That’s NOT who this league is!!”
Dunn’s tweet accompanied video from the post-game press conference, when Fever coach Christie Sides addressed how Clark has been treated during her first season with the WNBA. On Saturday, cameras caught Sky’s Carter shoulder check Clark, who was waiting for an inbounds pass. A common foul was called.
“We’re just going to keep sending these possessions to the league and these plays,” Sides told reporters. “Hopefully they’ll start taking a better look at some of the things we see happening. It’s tough, to keep getting hammered when she does, and to not get rewarded with free throws. She has considered to fight through that.”
She and the Indiana Fever won Saturday, taking a 71-70 thriller over the Chicago Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But the story after the Fever’s first home win centered on a particular foul against Clark.
After Chennedy Carter made a basket for the Sky with 15.1 seconds left in the third quarter, she went to defend Clark, who was looking for an inbound pass.
Before Clark could take the inbounds pass, she was knocked down to the floor by a shoulder check from Carter, who was immediately whistled for a foul.
Clark was interviewed by ESPN after the quarter ended and was asked about a conversation she had with the referees.
“Yeah, that’s just not a basketball play,” Clark said. “But you know, I’ve gotta play through it, that’s what basketball is about at this level. I thought we’ve been really physical, we’ve missed some bunnies around the rim, so hopefully those fall in the fourth.”
Clark finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Carter finished with a game-high 19 points, going 8-for-12 from the field.
Carter refused to answer questions about the foul and Clark after the game.
“I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions,” she told reporters.
This isn’t the first time Clark has received punishment. After a Thursday game against Seattle, she told reporters, “I feel like I’m getting hammered, I don’t know.”
Later, a wider angle shot of the incident showed Angel Reese, a bitter college rival of Clark while at LSU, jumping off the bench and applauding the hard foul by her teammate.
Chicago Sky beat Indiana Fever 88-87 in intense rematch between Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark
Basketball fans pack Wintrust Arena, pay high prices to watch highly-anticipated matchup.
CHICAGO (WLS) — A highly-anticipated WNBA matchup Sunday in Chicago ended in a win for the Sky. Many fans were excited to see rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark face off after their college rivalry has been reignited.
The Chicago Sky narrowly defeated the Indiana Fever in a final score of 88-87. Reese scored 25 points in the victory.
The game was at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, and it was projected to be one of the most expensive WNBA tickets in history.
“Caitlin Clark… Angel Reese… Cardoso, just all them… great players,” basketball fan Linnea Popp said.
Clark continued to energize fans of all ages, with many donning her college jersey as she faced off against Reese, a college rival.
“I live in Chicago. I’ve never been to a Sky game, and Caitlin Clark is really inspirational, so I wanted to see her play,” basketball fan Lauren Herguth said.
The excitement of the matchup made for some expensive ticket prices. The average ticket cost about $250 dollars, which is about $165 more than other Sky games, according to TickPick.
Fans said they have no problem paying a higher price for a rivalry like this.
“This is crazy… this is like a playoff experience… out of control,” basketball fan Dave Sedeus said.
Some high-profile guests also showed up, such as Chance the Rapper and Jason Sudeikis.
“I dig it, I dig it, I’m from Iowa City. I went to the university of Iowa, and I’ve been following Caitlin Clark her whole career,” basketball fan James Tutson said. “It’s so fun. This is a great rivalry, and they’re gonna have a rivalry for a long time, so it’s great.”
Fans embraced the continued growth of the WNBA and women’s sports.
“I’ve been to WNBA but it was never like this,” sports fan “Marlins Man” said. “This is making it happen… watching a transformation right now in the country of the WNBA.”
Earlier this week, Chennedy Carter and Marina Mabrey scored 19 points each, and Angel Reese recorded her seventh consecutive double-double to set a WNBA rookie record and the Chicago Sky eased by the Dallas Wings 83-72 on Thursday to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Fever visited Chicago after NaLyssa Smith scored 21 points in the Fever’s 91-79 victory against the Atlanta Dream.
Chicago had a 2-6 record against teams above .500. The Sky were 2-7 in conference games.
Chicago was shooting 42.1% from the field this season, 2.8 percentage points lower than the 44.9% Indiana allows to opponents. Indiana averages 8.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.1 more made shots on average than the 6.4 per game Chicago allows.
The Fever had gone 6-6 against Eastern Conference opponents. Indiana ranked third in the Eastern Conference with 24.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Smith averaging 5.2.
The teams met for the third time this season. In the last matchup on June 16 the Fever won 91-83 led by 23 points from Caitlin Clark, while Marina Mabrey scored 22 points for the Sky.
