Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever win for the fourth time over Chicago Sky

Chicago – First Three Indiana Fever,chicago sky The games were defined by their competitive nature, with the June bouts decided to a combined 10 points.

However, that didn’t happen in the teams’ fourth and final meeting of the regular season on Friday: The Fever (16-16) won 100-81 — and with a 27-point lead — reached the .500 mark for the first time since May 2022, when they were just 2-2. Indiana’s 103 straight games under .500 was the third-longest streak in WNBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

When was the last time the franchise finished .500 or better in the month of August? That was in 2016, the final season for veteran Tamika Catchings.

With their biggest win of the season, the Fever also secured a 3–1 season series win against the Sky.

“It feels good to be sitting at .500 right now,” Indiana coach Christy Sides said. “It’s been a while since the Fever has been at .500. I’m very proud of that and where we are today from where we started. But I never doubted we could get here.”

Indiana has been one of the league’s best teams since the Olympic break, improving to 5-1 in that span. By hitting the century mark on Friday – its highest scoring total of the season – the Fever once again showed how they have had the best offensive output in the league since mid-June and how they have become one of the WNBA’s most dangerous teams.

Rookie sensation Caitlin Clarke She was mesmerizing with 31 points, the highest of her career, and 12 assists. She is the fifth player in WNBA history with 30 points and 10 assists in a game and the third to achieve this stat in a regular season.

Chicago, which held a Barbie Night in honor of the rising star angel reesehave lost five consecutive games and six of seven games in the second half. Michaela Onyenwere And Lindsay Allen Sky finished top with 20 and 19 points respectively.

Three important things have emerged from this competition.

There is no decrease in the aggressive attitude of fever

Indiana has had the best offensive rating in the league since June 13, and Friday’s performance will only increase that number.

After a slow start and falling behind by as many as 13, the Fever found momentum with their bread and butter: pushing the pace and converting from the 3-point arc. Mitchell (23 points) led the way with 18 points in the first half — her most in a half this season — but she and Clark combined to shoot 6-9 from 3 in the first 20 minutes. That was the case in the second half, allowing the Fever to have one of their best 3-point shooting nights of the season (13 of 29).

Clark would get the headlines for his career night, but the team was quick to credit him for his defensive contributions as well. tammy fagbenlewho came off the bench and was the team’s best scorer with 29 runs, Lexi Hullwho continued his recent stellar shooting (3 of 4 from deep) and NaLyssa Smithwhose 11 third quarter points steadied the Fever when Aliyah Boston Went to the bench due to dishonesty.

The skies continue to slide

The Sky had full momentum early Friday and established an offensive flow that helped them jump out to a 24-11 lead. Coach Teresa Weatherspoon preached a next-up mentality before heading into the game with the top scorer Chennedy Carter (health and safety protocols) were absent, and Allen and Onyenwere answered the call, starting the game 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from the 3-point arc. At the half, where the Sky trailed by only five, those two had scored 28 of Chicago’s 42 points.

Execution at the end of games has been a sticking point for the Sky in recent games, but Friday was more a case of the wheels falling off. The Fever pulled within three by the end of the first quarter, then won by a combined 19 points in the middle two quarters. Even when Chicago got within single digits in the third quarter, it never felt like Indiana truly lost control.

Since the season resumed, Weatherspoon has been urging her team to be more disciplined defensively, know the scout and implement it. Giving up 100 points — the most the Sky have given up all season — and letting the Fever get whatever they wanted offensively was the opposite.

“We need to fix a lot of things, and it starts on the defensive side of the ball,” Weatherspoon said. “We’re not causing disruptions. We’re allowing teams to make shots where they want, when they want.

“The toughest thing in this game is defense. In the third quarter, we sent them to the line over and over again.”

guard Rachel Banhamwho joined the team last month, which dropped the then top scorer Marina Mabrey “Sometimes our effort was lacking,” the Connecticut playing coach said in a postgame press conference.

“If you’re not motivated to get your ass whipped, then we have a problem,” he said. “Then don’t wear the uniform. You’d better feel it in your chest.”

Chicago doesn’t have a lot of time to figure out the challenges that lie ahead. It plays at Minnesota on Sunday and at Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The playoff race just got more interesting

Don’t look now, but if the regular season ended today, the Fever would be the sixth seed in the playoffs, as they own the tiebreaker at 16-16. Phoenix Mercury,

A lot can still change over the next three weeks, but the notion of the Fever reaching the sixth seed in the postseason seemed far-fetched when they started 2024 with a 1-8 record. Their favorable remaining schedule — they have three games left against teams with winning records and two of those are at home — should have Indiana fans feeling pretty comfortable with where the team stands with the playoffs looming.

Meanwhile, Chicago (11-20) is trying to save its spot in eighth place amid its worst losing streak of the current season. And yet it’s still one game ahead of second place. Atlanta Dreamwho lost to the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Friday night. The Dream have failed to take advantage of the struggling Sky, as they have lost four in a row following second-half wins over the Storm, Sun and Mercury. And after the Wings beat the Lynx, Dallas can’t be considered out either, as it is now two games behind Chicago (as is Washington).

A lot can happen in three weeks, but if the Sky want to play until the end of September, they need to solve their problems quickly before a sixth consecutive postseason berth slips out of their grasp.