How Caitlin Clark stunned everyone with 31 points, leading the Fever to the top offensive unit in the WNBA.

Chicago The competitive character of the first three Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky games was evident; those June encounters were decided by a total of 10 points.

That was not the case on Friday, though, in their fourth and final regular-season encounter. The Fever (16-16) easily defeated the club, leading by as many as 27, to win 100-81 and move above the.500 mark for the first time since May 2022, when they were just 2-2. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Indiana’s run of 103 games under.500 was the third-longest in WNBA history.When was the last time the team finished August at.500 or above? That would be the last season of the great Tamika Catching, in 2016.

The Fever won the season series against the Sky 3-1 thanks to their biggest victory margin of the year.

“Sitting at.500 right now feels good,” Christie Sides, the Indiana coach, remarked. “The Fever hasn’t been at.500 in a very long time. Simply put, I’m quite proud of that and where we’ve come from our beginnings. However, I was always certain that this was the best place for us to be.”
Since the Olympic break, Indiana has become one of the league’s hottest teams, going 5-1 during that time. The Fever proved once again why they’ve had the best offense in the league since mid-June and why they’ve emerged as one of the WNBA’s most dangerous teams by scoring a season-high century on Friday.

With a career-high 31 points and 12 assists, rookie star Caitlin Clark captivated the audience. She is the third player to record 30 points and 10 assists in a game under regulation and the fifth player overall in WNBA history to do it. Chicago has dropped five games in a row and six of seven in the second half. In remembrance of rookie sensation Angel Reese, the team hosted a Barbie Night. Lindsay Allen and Michaela Onyenwere led the Sky with 19 and 20 points, respectively.

Here are three lessons learned from the competition.

Since June 13, Indiana has had the highest offensive rating in the league; their performance on Friday will only increase that figure.

The Fever found their stride by accelerating and making 3-pointers after falling behind by 13 points at the beginning of the game. Mitchell (23 points) took the lead, scoring her highest number of points in a half this season (18 points in the first half), but in the opening 20 minutes, she and Clark combined for just 6-for-9 shooting from three points. The Fever managed one of their finest 3-point shooting games of the season (13 for 29) in the second half thanks to more of the same.Although Clark’s career night will garner most of the attention, the team was also quick to acknowledge the defensive efforts of Temi Fagbenle, who was a team-best plus 29 off the bench, Lexie Hull, who continued her recent hot shooting (3 for 4 from deep), and NaLyssa Smith, whose 11 points in the third quarter kept the Fever in the game when Aliyah Boston fouled out and had to go to the bench.