INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark looked reenergized after having a month off from games during the WNBA’s recently concluded break for the Paris Olympics.
The Phoenix Mercury’s three players who were part of the U.S. women’s basketball team that won Olympic gold last Sunday in Paris couldn’t keep up with her Friday night.
Clark scored 13 of her 29 points in the first quarter, added 10 assists and four 3-pointers, and helped the Indiana Fever fend off the Mercury’s furious second-half rally to restart the season with a critical 98-89 victory.
“You knew they were going to come in here with a lot of confidence, with three people that have won gold medals,” said Clark, the rookie guard and No. 1 draft pick who was left off the Olympic roster. “You know their confidence is really high, and I thought we came out and really set the tone.”
It wasn’t just Clark, who posted her 10th double-double of the season, either.
Kelsey Mitchell made six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, and 2023 No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston outplayed veteran Brittney Griner, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds as the Fever swept the three-game season series to add even more fuel to the budding rivalry between Clark and three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi.
The barbs began in April when Taurasi predicted Clark would face a rude awakening in her first pro season. Phoenix stoked the fire again this week with a Twitter video that included a young fan asking, “Who’s Caitlin? I’m here for Taurasi.” And then twice during the game, brief scuffles broke out.
Whether it was the Fever (12-15) being motivated by the chance to face three Olympians and having a chance at their first season sweep of any team since 2020, or the Mercury dealing with the fatigue of the Paris Games followed by two road games in two days, six-time gold medalist Taurasi and her teammates certainly weren’t themselves early.
It proved costly as the Mercury (14-13) fell into a 48-20 deficit midway through the second quarter.
“I think you can see it in their faces, you know, they’re tired,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. “There’s going to be better days, for sure. We’ve just got to understand these games are going to come quick here, but I know all three of them are ready to sleep in their own beds.”
While one Olympic gold medalist, Kahleah Copper, finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, Phoenix’s other two — Griner and Taurasi — combined for just 12 points in the first half. Taurasi wound up with 16 points, but Griner had 10 points and four rebounds and dealt with foul trouble.
Still, the weary trio found a way to spur a comeback. Phoenix cut its deficit to 54-37 heading to halftime, then opened the second half on a 25-7 run to take a 62-61 lead late in the third quarter.
After Clark returned, the Fever rebounded thanks to Mitchell’s deft shooting and Katie Lou Samuelson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 73-65 lead. The Fever never trailed again in front of another sold-out crowd.
“Yeah, it was pretty fun. I think we came out with a lot of energy,” Clark said with a smile when asked about the fast start. “I think there’s times where we could have crumbled, but we just kept battling and fighting, and I thought it was a really good one for us.”
Tamika Catchings, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member and former Fever star, addressed the crowd during a first-quarter timeout to celebrate the recent selection of Indianapolis as the site of next season’s WNBA All-Star Game. Catchings will be one of five co-chairs on the local organizing committee.
The league announced the Fever’s selection as the host team Wednesday. The game will be played July 19, 2025. Phoenix hosted this year’s festivities last month, when Clark was part of the WNBA All-Star team that beat the U.S. women’s team.
Indianapolis has never hosted the WNBA All-Star game but did host the NBA All-Star Game earlier this year.