Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese are filling up box scores, setting records and eyeing the playoffs

Rookies Caitlin Clarke And angel reese The WNBA is entering the final week of the playoff race, and both teams are building on their history-making seasons.

He did it again on Sunday.

Chicago Forward Reese became the WNBA’s single-season rebounding leader, surpassing retired superstar Sylvia Fowles. Indiana Guard Clark became the first WNBA player to score at least 25 points and 10 assists in two consecutive games in the regular season.

Reese’s 19 boards in the Sky’s loss at Minnesota moved her to 418 in 32 games, surpassing Foulkes’ 404 in 34 games in 2018. Reese later said she was unaware of the record.

“Tell me what I did so I know,” Rees said in Sky’s postgame news conference. “Because I’m not on social media. My manager has my social media, so I don’t know what’s going on.”

When told she surpassed the rebounding mark of fellow former LSU star Fowles, Reese said she was confident the strength she gained from college would translate immediately to the WNBA. But her biggest concern now is that the Sky have lost six games in a row.

“I don’t know what individual awards I’ll get,” Reese said. “When we start winning, then fine, congratulations. I just want to focus on winning right now.”

Meanwhile, Clark’s Fever team beat Dallas 100-93 on Sunday, winning four in a row and is now 17-16. The last season in which Indiana finished with a better than .500 record was 2015, when the Fever went 20-14 and made the WNBA Finals. The Fever’s last playoff appearance was in 2016, when they finished 17-17 in the regular season. Sunday’s win snapped a streak of 189 games since June 2019 in which the Fever were not above .500.

While the Fever’s playoff chances are improving and the Sky are looking to get back on track, two freshmen who have caught a lot of attention in the WNBA this year are getting even better.

Caitlin Clark: Making Issues

Voepel: Clark is now averaging 18.7 points and a league-high 8.4 assists. She has scored or assisted on 37.3% of the Fever’s points this season; that would be a WNBA record if she stays there. She is currently shooting 36.8%. Courtney VanderslootThen with Chicago. She did so in 2020, when the WNBA regular season was 22 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, Clark set the rookie season assist record, and she is poised to break the overall assist record as well. On Sunday, she had 28 points and 12 assists in the Fever’s win at Dallas, marking the first time in franchise history that Indiana scored at least 100 points in back-to-back games. The Fever beat Reese and Chicago 100-81 on Friday.

“Just playing fast, playing off each other, that’s probably the biggest thing,” Clark said, specifically referring to the success he and his fellow guards have had. Kelsey Mitchell That’s what we’ve been doing since WNBA play resumed after the Paris Games. “We’re playing well, we’re looking out for each other, we’re moving down the stretch.”

Filippo: Since the Olympic break, the Clark-Mitchell duo has been an unstoppable force of nature, and that was the case on Sunday. The way Clark is leading Indiana’s offense through both her facilitation and scoring has fueled the discussion about whether she will make the All-WNBA team and whether she can win an MVP vote. Remember, voters rank up to five players on their ballots, so Aja Wilson For example, Clarke might still be the unanimous MVP, but Clarke could end up somewhere else in the voters’ rankings. With seven games left, four of them against under-.500 teams, this could be the direction things are going.

Watching the Fever over the last two weeks, it’s hard not to wonder just how far this duo can take Indiana this fall. Could they make a run for the 4- or 5-seed if the Aces and Storm continue to falter? Even if not, no team wants to face Indiana and its high-powered offense in a first-round series where the Fever will simply have to split the first two games on the road to ensure what will undoubtedly be a raucous Game 3 atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Angel Reese: Cleaning

Filippo: Reece spoke Sunday about how she knew her motor would come in handy in the pro game, especially in rebounding the ball. That was probably something that many pro talent evaluators underestimated before she came to the league. Reece knows she has to grow in her game, as any new player knows. But her ability and competitive fire for the ball are now undeniable, with her name etched in the record books with numerous rebounding accomplishments, no matter her experience level. And, she reiterated Sunday, it’s not just because she’s rebounding her own misses, or because she’s the tallest player on the court (she’s just 6 foot 3 inches). And what’s promising for Chicago long-term is that Reece is willing to take that same drive and desire to win with her into her offseason and use it to develop her game.

The fact that as a budding player she has already crossed the milestones of legends like Sylvia Fowles and. Tina Charles Nothing short of remarkable. Then again, with 24 double-doubles after Sunday, he’s within reach of breaking the single-season double-double record of 28, which would tie the all-time record of 28. Alyssa Thomas In 2023.

Voepel: The Sky’s Teresa Weatherspoon has played or coached with or against many of the best post players in women’s basketball history. Weatherspoon, a guard at Louisiana Tech, USA Basketball and the WNBA, also spent time coaching in the NBA. She credits Reese’s rebounding ability to her high self-esteem.

“It’s a mindset. She wants it,” Weatherspoon said. “She’s not going to let a box-out stop her from getting offensive rebounds. She’s very physical out there. It’s a desire. She works hard for it. She takes it very personally. She’s very serious about her job of getting rebounds. She knows that’s what she brings to this team to help us be successful, and she’s a master of that role.”

Reese said, however, she doesn’t think that’s enough. She has taken Sky’s losing streak seriously and wants to do everything possible to end it.

“It can’t just be a surge. It has to be more,” he said.