The First Battle Between Caitlin Clark & Angel Reese Goes to The Fever 71-70

"I'm proud of our group," said Caitlin Clark, who finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. "I thought earlier in the season, to this point, if we would have shot like this, we wouldn't have won the game because we didn't have that resiliency and we would let it affect the defensive end for us. So just proud of us. We were really gritty on defense. Even when they were making runs, we always found a way to respond."

The Indiana Fever won their first home game of the season, a 71-70 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky and fellow rookie star Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky's pick at No. 3, who made her WNBA debut, scoring 11 points and corralling six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Reserve Chennedy Carter led the Sky in scoring with 19 points.

The game also marked both teams' first appearance in the Commissioner's Cup, the WNBA's in-season tournament.

"We were connected defensively more than we've been all year," Indiana coach Christie Sides said.

"We're just gonna keep sending these possessions to the league, and these plays, and hopefully they'll start, you know, taking a better look at some of the things that we see happening, or we think is happening," Sides said. "Just more happy that Caitlin handled it the way she did. You know, it's tough to keep getting hammered the way she does and to not get rewarded with free throws or foul calls. She's continued to fight through that. Appreciate that from her. Really, really proud of her for doing that."

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
In some ways, the WNBA is actually more chippy than the NBA. The Sky's Carter drew attention with a play toward the end of the third quarter when she shoulder-checked Clark before the basketball was inbounded. The call was actually not reviewed and was deemed a common foul.

When asked about the play afterward, Carter said "next question" and declined to address Clark or the foul. Sides said the team will probably send it to the league to be reviewed.

"Anytime you win, that makes everything a lot better," Sides said. "These guys, they're clawing and they're fighting. And that's all I can ask them to do. They did that 'til the end tonight, and they'll do it again tomorrow regardless of the competition."