The Indiana Fever hit the jackpot with No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, but the Fever had their biggest test of the season so far against the back-to-back defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
2023 WNBA Finals MVP A'ja Wilson and the Aces routed Clark and the Fever, 99-80, on Saturday at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
The Fever have got off to a rough start and opened the season on a five-game losing streak. Indiana picked up their first win on Friday in their 78-73 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks, but couldn't replicate any comeback magic on Saturday. The Aces, however, are off to a 3-1 start in their bid to become the first WNBA team to win three consecutive titles since Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson led the now-disbanded Houston Comets to four consecutive titles from 1997-2000.
Clark reunited on the court with former Iowa Hawkeyes teammate Kate Martin, who was drafted by the Aces with the 18th overall pick of 2024 WNBA draft. Martin attended the draft ceremony in support of Clark, the No. 1 overall pick, before she was selected by the Aces from the audience. (More on that below.)
USA TODAY Sports provided the latest news, scores, analysis and more from the Aces-Fever game:
A'ja Wilson scored 29 points as the Las Vegas Aces rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 99-80 defeat of the visiting Indiana Fever.
There was no comeback magic for the Fever on Saturday. Indiana was blown out by the Aces, 99-80. The Fever drop to 1-6 on the season, while the Aces improve to 3-1.
A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists, the 80th career double-double of her career. Jackie Young added 22 points and six assists, while Kelsey Plum had 20 points and four assists.
Caitlin Clark finished the contest with eight points, shooting 2-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from three. She also had seven assists and five rebounds, in addition to six turnovers. Kelsey Mitchell (16 points), Temi Fagbenle (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Aaliyah Boston (12 points, six rebounds) all scored double figures.
The Fever erased an 11-point deficit against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday to win their first game of the season. Does Indiana have another comeback in them? The Fever currently trails 18 with 7:43 remaining in the game.
The Aces have their largest lead of the game heading into the fourth quarter. Las Vegas closed the third quarter on a 11-3 run to go up by 16 points over the Fever. A’ja Wilson has a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Jackie Young added 20 points and six assists.
Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell leads the team with 16 points, while Boston added 10 points and six rebounds and Caitlin Clark has eight points, five rebounds, five assists and five turnovers.
It’s raining threes at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Caitlin Clark knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game with 9:13 remaining in the third quarter to bring the Fever within three, 46-43. Kelsey Mitchell and Katie Lou Samuelson also knocked down threes, but the Aces answered back with a three from none other than A’ja Wilson. It marks only her second three of the season. The Aces lead 56-49.
The Aces are 7-of-20 from beyond the arc, while the Fever is 6-of-18 from three.
The Aces outscored the Fever 22-10 in the second quarter to take an eight point lead at halftime. Las Vegas’ Jackie Young leads all scorers with 17 points (5-of-11 FG, 3-of-7 3PT), two steals and two assists. Three of the Aces’ starters are in double figures — A’ja Wilson is nearing a double-double with 12 points and six rebounds, while Kelsey Plum has 14 points and three assists.
Caitlin Clark has struggled shooting so far and has five points (1-of-6 FG, 1-of-3 3-PT) with four turnovers, three assists and three assists. Aliyah Boston has ten points and five rebounds.
Aces' Jackie Young is turning defense into offense. She pickpocketed Caitlin Clark and converted it into an easy lay-up, marking Clark’s fourth turnover of the game. On the next possession, Young knocked down a 25-foot 3-pointer to go up 36-34 on the Fever. A three from Alysha Clark and a layup from A’ja Wilson extended the Aces’ lead to 41-36, the biggest of the game, with 2:56 remaining.
Young has a game-high 17 points and two steals. The Aces are on a 12-2 run as we near halftime.
Lisa Bluder is in the house! The former head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team sat courtside at Michelob ULTRA Arena, near the Aces bench, to see three of her former players in action — Fever’s Caitlin Clark, Aces’ Kate Martin and Aces’ Megan Gustafson.
Bluder recently retired after 24 seasons as the head coach of Iowa after leading Clark and the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament title game, which they lost to South Carolina.
“We had three Hawks on the floor at the same time,” said Bluder, who was seated next to Iowa’s new head coach Jan Jensen. “That’s pretty darn neat. I’m so proud of them.”
When asked who she is going for, Bluder, dressed in Iowa gear, said, “I’m going for the Hawks.”
The Fever have a four-point lead over the Aces after one quarter of play. Indiana’s Temi Fagbenle and Kelsey Mitchell have a team-high six points, while Caitlin Clark added three points after knocking down a three-point shot. (The Fever are shooting a dismal 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.) The Fever is out rebounding the Aces 11-5. Aaliyah Boston has four of those rebounds, while Clark grabbed two.
Aces’ Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young both have nine points for Las Vegas, while A’ja Wilson added six points.
Caitlin Clark got on the board with a 3-pointer over Kelsey Plum, who Clark passed on the NCAA all-time scoring list while playing at Iowa last season, to take the lead 14-13. Plum answered back with a three of her own on the next possession to take the lead back, 16-14, with 5:17 remaining in the first quarter.
A’ja Wilson has four points, while Jackie Young leads all scorers with seven points.
The Fever at Aces is televised on NBA TV.
Streaming options for Fever at Aces include Fubo and on demand on the WNBA’s League Pass upon its conclusion. Fans can get League Pass by downloading the WNBA app.
Indiana is coming off its first win of the season against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday. The Fever are 1-5.
Las Vegas comes into Saturday’s game at 2-1.
Clark finished with 11 points — including two ridiculous deep 3-pointers — shooting 4-of-14 from the field and 2-of-9 from three in the Fever's 78-73 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, Indiana's first of the season. Clark nearly had a triple-double with 10 rebound and eight assists.
The Aces will come into Saturday’s matchup fresher than the Indiana Fever. The Fever will play a back-to-back game on the road in Las Vegas on Saturday following Friday’s contest in Los Angeles. Saturday will wrap up a three-game road trip for the Fever, who will have played all three games in the span of four days.
Meanwhile, the Aces will be coming in with more rest. The defending champions have only played three games so far this season heading into Saturday and last played on Tuesday. All three of their games this season has been at home at Michelob ULTRA Arena this season.
Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin will take the court together again, but this time they will be on different teams. The former Iowa Hawkeye teammates and roommates are still “best friends,” Clark said ahead of the matchup.
“Kate is obviously my best friend and somebody that was with me all four years at Iowa. I was the person that had to beg her to come back for her sixth year, so I’m she doesn’t regret that at this point," Clark said in her pregame press conference on Saturday. "We’ve talked every single day. I’ve called her, if not texted her every single day. I’m really happy for her."
Clark described Martin as the "ultimate teammate" and "ultimate leader." She added: "(Martin) is going to do whatever she can for her team. Just a super unselfish person and honestly she’s just a winner."
The WNBA on Tuesday released results from its survey of team GMs, who made predictions for the season.
Here are some of their picks:
Caitlin Clark rewriting the record book at Iowa, and doing so in spectacular fashion, helped thousands of people fall in love with women’s basketball. She talked often about how she wanted to play with joy and bring joy to viewers. It became the word most associated with her (partially because “logo 3s” is two words).
Five games into her professional career, that joy is clearly missing. It’s hard to have fun when you’re losing, of course, but Clark remembering that this game is fun would surely help her. While she is uncannily poised for her age and has handled every question and criticism with grace, there’s no question that the load she’s carrying is taking a toll.
Clark can learn a lot from Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd. Read Lindsay Schnell’s complete article.
Caitlin Clark is the reigning national college player of the year, a sharpshooting supernova with a penchant for launching 3-pointers from the logo, flicking no-look passes through defenders' arms and talking trash to any and all who stand in her way.
USA TODAY Sports has been tracking her game closely. In case you need to brush up on your Clark trivia, we’ve got you covered with our complete guide to all things Clark.
Ahead of the defending champion's matchup against the Fever on Saturday, Aces head coach Becky Hammon sounded off against "this narrative of everybody hating on (Caitlin Clark)." Hammon added, “Let's be very clear, we love Caitlin Clark … knock it off."
"I think she's amazing, I watched (Clark) every time I possibly could. And our league loves her," Hammon said. "She’s a 22-year-old woman with a lot of pressure. She’s not perfect. She’s a rookie in this league... Back off."
Hammon's full comments here.
Ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, Barkley called out the "petty" critics of Caitlin Clark among the WNBA.
"You woman out there, y'all petty, man... Y'all should be thanking (Caitlin Clark) for getting y'all (expletive) private charters," Barkley said during TNT's "Inside the NBA" broadcast, highlighting "all the money and visibility she's bringing to the WNBA.
Watch more Barkley defending Clark.
Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is the latest athlete to get her own signature shoe, joining New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark reportedly signed a deal worth $28 million that would also include her own signature shoe with Nike.
"It's been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete," she announced earlier this month. "From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we've worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style."
Wilson's shoe will hit the market in 2025.
Toronto will be the home to the WNBA’s 14th franchise, one that will take the court in 2026.
The news conference was a star-studded affair, with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, rapper and entertainer Drake and members of the Toronto Raptors all making an appearance at the event.
The forthcoming Toronto franchise is one of four new teams expected to join the league in the coming years. In May, the Golden State Valkyries officially joined the fray, with their colors and logo unveiled. Their first game is scheduled to be played in 2025. That leaves two more spots for expansion by 2028, if the arrow continues to point up for the W.
The WNBA's newest team, which will join the league from the Bay Area in 2025, now has a name. The league announced the new team will be named the Golden State Valkyries and the team's colors will be Valkyrie Violet.
The team said that a Valkyrie originates "from Norse mythology and that the nickname represents a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike." Read more from Scooby Axson here.
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