A sold-out crowd poured in to watch the most anticipated WNBA game of the weekend featuring the two most publicized WNBA players, rookie Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Clark immediately took a leadership role on her Fever squad, which improved to 5-10 with the win.
Reese and Cardoso are finding a rhythm as the Twin Towers and both are proving to be double-double machines.
Reese finished the game with 11 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five assists and two steals. Cardoso had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Sky, who dropped to 4-9 on the season.
Both teams have surely had growing pains, and the rookies have had to carry a huge burden night in and night out while being covered by the media like 10-year established legends and trying to learn the ropes at the highest level of women’s basketball that exists on the planet.
Reese only shot 4 of 13 from the floor, and foul trouble stopped her from being as aggressive as she normally would be on both sides of the ball, especially as the second half progressed. Reese didn’t get her first points of the second half until one minute left in the game, but it was a big shot to cut into the Fever lead late.
Cailtin Clark Almost Messed Around And Got A Triple Double
Clark had a near triple-double and did most of her damage early in the game, racking up 23 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in nearly 37 minutes of action. She was energized for this game against Reese, and her team desperately needed a win.
Clark’s shooting splits skyrocketed in this game. She was an efficient 7-for-11 from the field (63.6 percent) and she was 3 of 7 from three, which is a 42.8 percent clip. Both numbers much higher than her season averages, which remain in the low 30s.
Of course, Clark’s performance and Reese’s L inspired the CC side representing White Twitter to go in on the Chicago Sky rookie, who played a passionate and respectful game.
Reese Hit With Flagrant Foul For Hitting Clark In Head
There was one classic moment when Clark drove to the hoop in the third quarter and Reese blocked her shot and Clark flew to the ground. Reese was assessed a flagrant foul after hitting Clark in the head and sending her sprawling to the hardwood, although some angles show it was a remarkable effort by Reese, who appeared to block it clean.
You can’t deny that these rookies know how to give the people what they want and incite emotion. Reese always seems to end up being the villain to some and a hero to others.
Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark Developing Lethal Chemistry
It was a battle of two bottom-rung squads with players who will be very much a part of the WNBA’s future and play on more than their share of winning teams. In the end, all of the highly touted and highly publicized rookies needed the veterans to take the lead and determine the fate of the game.
TOP TAKE: This is the most balanced I have seen Kelsey Mitchell (17 points) and Caitlin Clark as a tandem. Sometimes their styles clash, with them both being very offensive-minded. Against Chicago, the players seemed to be in unison offensively. When one had the hot hand, the other concentrated on different responsibilities.
After a dry spell for Clark in the third and into the fourth quarter (with Mitchell and Boston keeping the Fever ahead in the game) the No. 1 overall pick displayed the clutch gene that elevated her to prominence at Iowa when she hit a dagger three in the fourth quarter with 3 minutes left to give the Fever its biggest lead of seven points. Until that point, the momentum was shifting in Chicago’s favor.
Clark exploded very demonstratively after that three. She was not just celebrating, but exhaling a bit because this was probably her best game of the season as far as efficiency goes and working with her team to get a win.
Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson WNBA Theme Works
After her slow start, Aliyah Boston is putting together back-to-back All-Star level games in the post. The Fever needed her to perform against the Sky’s two-headed monster and she came through with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
The records don’t reflect it, but neither team is a squad any of the elite teams are anxious to face. Both are scrappy, well-coached and have dynamic rookies who are probably at the lowest points of production that they will ever be at in their careers.
The ratings will show that the WNBA’s version of Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson is a great theme to ride. Next time, we hope the refs can be a bit less liberal with their use of whistles so we can see Angel Reese on the court and able to play to her full capacity.
Clark is now 2-0 against Reese in WNBA competition.
