The rivalry that WNBA fans have been hoping to see between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese developed further on Sunday afternoon as the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky battled in a fiercely contested matchup.

Individually, Clark won the matchup with 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, adding eight rebounds and nine assists. She started off hot for the Fever, making her first three shots and scoring seven points in the first quarter. That matched her entire scoring total from Thursday’s win over the Atlanta Dream.

Angel Reese couldn’t beat foul trouble

Reese was limited by foul trouble, going to the bench with four personals after picking up three in the third quarter. That included being called for a flagrant foul after hitting Clark in the head on a drive to the basket.

She drew her fifth foul midway through the fourth, but Sky coach Teresa Witherspoon put Reese back in the game with approximately five minutes remaining as the Fever built a five-point lead.
The foul trouble stalled what appeared to be a good game for Reese, who led the Sky with nine points at halftime. She finished with 11 points, a team-high 13 rebounds and five assists.

Marina Mabrey led Chicago with 22 points, while Chennedy Carter followed with 18 and Dana Evans finished with 12. Kamilla Cardoso scored 10 and grabbed 10 boards, initially helping the Sky to assert their frontcourt advantage over Indiana.

Aliyah Boston eventually won matchup with Kamila Cardoso

However, Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith took control in the second half. Boston, especially, worked a good two-player game with Clark as the game progressed, besting her former South Carolina teammate Cardoso in their individual matchup. She finished with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Fever, while Smith added 15 with seven rebounds.

Kelsey Mitchell was a major factor at the end for Indiana in the second half as Clark and Boston drew more defensive attention. She tallied 17 points for the game. And Katie Lou Samuelson shot 3-for-4 from three-point range, giving her nine points.

Sky is falling

Sunday’s loss to the Fever was the Sky’s fourth consecutive defeat, dropping them to 4–9 for the season, now a game behind Indiana (5–10) in the Eastern Conference. After Friday’s loss to the Washington Mystics, Witherspoon was asked if she was considering a change to the starting lineup but said she wasn’t thinking about that and eventually walked out of her press conference.

However, a new lineup did take the floor on Sunday with Carter and Lindsay Allen taking over for Evans and Diamond DeShields. The change seemed to suit Carter, but Allen only scored two points. Yet Chicago shot 41% on three-pointers, improving what’s been a season-long issue for at least one game.

Up next for the Sky is a matchup in Dallas with the 3–9 Wings on Thursday. The Fever host the Mystics on Wednesday.