Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky has become one of the most anticipated WNBA matchups in the league, and it did not disappoint on Sunday.
The game, featuring the most expensive WNBA seats on record, ended with the Sky winning 88-87 after a thrilling second-half comeback. This came just a week after the Fever beat the Sky with an impressive 91-83 victory.
The first half was incredibly close, with seven draws and eight lead changes between the two teams. The second saw the two teams widen the gap, but only for a while: Chicago came out strong in the second half, going on a 9-0 run to open the half, but the Fever quickly caught up .
Late in the third quarter, Indiana began to pull away, up 15 in the third quarter. But Chicago surged late to cut that lead in half heading into the fourth.
The Sky came back to within a tie, 82-82, with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. With one minute remaining and with the score tied at 84-84, Angel Reese made a layup to give Chicago the lead for good. Although Indiana had several chances to take the lead in the final seconds due to a series of missed Chicago free throws, the Sky held on for the victory.
Caitlin Clark and Reese, Indiana and Chicago’s top recruits respectively, each had a double-double, with different statistics. Clark finished with 17 points and 13 assists, while Reese had a career-high 25 points and 16 rebounds. The game marked Reese’s eighth consecutive double-double, extending her record as the only rookie to achieve the feat and making her just the third person in the league to reach the milestone.
Seven of Clark’s assists went to Aliyah Boston, who finished with 18 points. Guard Kelsey Mitchell leads the Fever with 24 points, going 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Reese led the Sky in points, followed by Chennedy Carter, who had a massive game with 23 points and five assists. Kamilla Cardoso, Sky’s other rookie, had her own double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Sunday’s loss to the Sky snaps a four-game winning streak for the Fever, who play Thursday against the Seattle Storm. Chicago, however, will benefit from a confidence boost as they face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who are on the rise after a slow start to the season.
Indiana and Chicago will face off for the fourth and final time this season on August 30 in another home game for the Sky. Indiana leads the season series 2-1.
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Angel Reese immediately found Sheryl Swoopes in the stands after their victory against the Fever.
Caitlin Clark had 17 points and a team-high 13 assists in the loss to the Fever. She also shot 5 of 9 from behind the arc.
Caitlin Clark: record for assists in a single game
Angel Reese: 8th consecutive double-double and career points record
Angel Reese left Sunday afternoon. She had 25 points, 16 rebounds and shot 8 of 12 from the field. It was his eighth consecutive double-double.
Chicago Sky 88, Indiana Fever 87
The Fever has 0.2 on the clock, but the Hail Mary fails and time expires. Chicago completes its explosive comeback and wins by one point.
Cardoso misses the second. The Fever calls a timeout, but there is confusion on the ground.
Cardoso goes to the line for the final moments of the match. The first one is missing…
Marina Mabrey misses both free throws and there is chaos on the court as both teams fight for the ball. Fever takes possession and Boston misses a jumper, and the Sky pulls off the incredible comeback victory…apparently.
The referees check the timing.
Boston scores a huge three-pointer to bring Indiana within one point. There are 20 seconds left and plenty of time for more chaos.
Kamilla Cardoso takes the ball away from Aliyah Boston under the hoop and commits the foul. Wintrust Arena stands tall as the Sky maintains a small lead – Chicago 87, Indiana 84
Another huge layup from Reese to take the lead. The Sky rookie now has a career-high 25 points.
There’s so much noise in Wintrust Arena that Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon apparently has to call timeout directly in the referee’s ear.
There’s a minute left to play and the two teams are fighting shot for shot, then miss for miss. 84-84…for now.
Reese draws another foul but starts going at it with NaLyssa Smith before shooting the free throw. The three-point play ties the game, 82-82.
Another huge layup from Reese gives him 20 points and ties his career high.
Carter also gets another layup to make it 20, and Chicago is now within four points of Indiana.
Clark is 5 of 8 from beyond the arc today, including that nasty three to open the fourth quarter…and another a few minutes later.
Play stopped as Indiana’s Katie Lou Samuelson gets a technical for throwing the ball behind her. The Sky do their best to regain the lead: Fever 77, Sky 68.
A huge shot from Reese under pressure – plus the extra free throw – gives the Sky some momentum as time runs out in the quarter.
Indiana 72, Chicago 64 late in the third.
Another huge three from Mitchell, with the and-one giving him a four-point play. Indiana leads 72-57 and Chicago slowly but surely trails behind.
Indiana now had the largest lead of the game, after a Clark steal set up a Kelsey Mitchell three-pointer and another Clark-assisted layup from Boston. The Fever are now up eleven points and remain in control of the ball.
Clark and Reese now have double-doubles, in different statistics. Clark has 11 points and 10 assists, while Reese has 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Reese is now the third player in league history to record eight consecutive double-doubles.
