The Indiana Fever opened their 2025 campaign with a blowout victory over the Chicago Sky, with the final score settling in at 93-58. Caitlin Clark kicked off her sophomore season with another strong outing, but perhaps her most notable play came in the third quarter when she committed a hard foul against her longtime rival Angel Reese, prompting the Sky center to go after Clark when she got up after the play.
Clark’s battle with Reese for the Rookie of the Year Award last year was one of the biggest storylines across the league, as they have battled each other dating back to their days in college. And considering their heated encounter midway through this game, it’s telling that Clark’s triple-double in this victory wasn’t even the most talked-about development from the Fever’s season-opener.
Caitlin Clark Addresses Controversial Foul on Angel Reese
After getting selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark starred for the Fever as a rookie. As noted above, she beat out Reese for Rookie of the Year, but that wasn’t all she did. Clark was an All-Star who also earned a spot on the All WNBA First-Team, while also leading the league in assists per game with 8.4. Simply put, Clark was everything she was expected to be in her first pro season.
Clark was every bit of good to open the Fever’s season against the Sky. She recorded a triple-double in the win, dropping 20 points, hauling in 10 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists. Clark hit six of her 13 shots from the field, which included her shooting four of eight from behind the arc. Per usual, Clark was a big reason why Indiana managed to come out on top in this clash.
In the third quarter, though, Clark committed a hard foul on Reese that sent her to the ground. While Clark didn’t make much of the play, even though it ended up being ruled a flagrant one foul, Reese got up and immediately appeared intent on going after the Fever star, but cooler heads prevailed. After the game, Clark downplayed the foul, saying she was just trying to help her team out.
“Let’s not make it anything that it’s not,” Clark said. “I’m not sure what the refs saw to upgrade it; that’s up to their discretion after watching the initial whatever happened during the play and whatever happened afterward. It’s a take foul to put them at the free throw line rather than give up two points. That’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious.”
Caitlin Clark, Fever Move on From Blowout vs. Angel Reese, Sky
GettyAngel Reese of the Chicago Sky reacts after fouling Caitlin Clark.
Clark doesn’t appear too concerned with the foul, which makes sense considering how much the Fever ended up winning this game by. While Reese took exception to the play, Clark was attempting to make a play to help her team out; it just happened to involve committing a hard foul against her longtime rival.
With a big season-opening win in the books, Clark and the Fever will move on from Reese and the Sky and begin preparing for their upcoming matchup against the Atlanta Dream. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 20.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Caitlin Clark Sends Strong Message on Controversial Angel Reese Play appeared first on Heavy Sports.