Caitlin Clark, Fever Dominate Wings with Record First Half

In the highly anticipated inaugural battle between No. 1 draft picks Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers as professionals, Clark and the Indiana Fever emerged victorious Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- and in a historic manner.

The Fever scored a franchise-record 64 first-half points, including a 36-15 second quarter, to take control of the game and never look back in a 102-83 victory.

Clark, the 2024 No. 1 pick, completed with 13 of Indiana's 30 assists on 40 makes, a season high for her and a Fever record for a regulation game.  Clark also had her 17th career 10-assist game, but it was her first with only two turnovers. 

Clark, who has been sidelined with injuries twice this season and missed the first Fever-Wings showdown in June, is still striving to regain her shooting form.  She scored 14 points while shooting 4-for-12 from the field and 2-for-7 from three.  However, the two-time All-Star was delighted with her facilitating and defensive efforts, where she helped set the tone for the Fever and recorded five thefts.

No play got the Fever supporters more excited than Clark blocking JJ Quinerly's layup attempt early in the second quarter and then finding a rim-running Sophie Cunningham with a spectacular three-quarter-court dime. 

"I probably didn't shoot it as well as I would have liked, but I believe it's coming.  "I'm just trying to get my legs under me," said Clark, who returned to the court after missing two weeks.  "I thought my playmaking was excellent.  "There was no reason for me to shoot so much... [We were] just very balanced, and people executed."

Bueckers, the 2025 No. 1 pick, led all scorers with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, giving her the fourth-longest stretch of double-digit scoring to begin a WNBA career (17 games).  The rookie of the year candidate added four assists, four rebounds, and two steals, but she also made four turnovers. 

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Fever tightened their defense and annihilated the Wings in transition, going on a 25-4 run to lead 64-42 at halftime.  The 21 points were Indiana's highest point differential in any quarter since 2016, while the Fever's 64 points were the most any WNBA club has scored in a half this season.

Indiana shot 52% on the day, scored 23 points off 18 Wings turnovers, and had a season-high 58 points in the paint.

"Some turnovers, and then just their physicality in general got into us," Dallas coach Chris Koclanes said of his team's second-quarter meltdown.  "Their physicality plagued us for long stretches, disrupting our flow and consistency. 

The Fever led by 29 points in the third quarter and finished with five players in double digits for the fourth time this season, led by Kelsey Mitchell (20), Natasha Howard (18), and Aliyah Boston (17).

"I think we were just firing on all cylinders, moving the ball well, getting to the next action, playing out a pick and roll well," Clark told ESPN.  "And then our defense was good and got us a lot of buckets in transition." 

Stephanie White, Indiana's coach, added, "For us to play in transition, we need to lock in on defense.  And the ball was moving; we were playing with 5 basketballs in the second quarter."

Following a poor offensive performance on Wednesday, in which the Fever (11-10) managed only 61 points on 30% shooting, Indiana has now scored 201 points in its last two games.  White stated that she is "pleased with our progress" as the squad works to define its identity. 

Arike Ogunbowale returned to Dallas (6-16) on Sunday after missing three games with a thumb injury, but the four-time All-Star struggled to find her shooting stroke.  She finished with two points and missed all ten field-goal attempts, the most in her career.

"You could tell she hadn't played in a while.  "I wish some [shots] had fallen early for her," Koclanes stated.  "She's got to continue to find that balance of really working hard to get up the floor and get spots and get off actions, and then I've got to continue to help her." 

Bueckers added, "This was the best response she's given to [shooting issues] since I've been here."  It may not have been her best shooting night, but the way she stayed in the game and did not let it affect her effort on both ends of the court, as well as her leadership of this team, was huge for me to witness."