INDIANAPOLIS — The crowd’s roars grew progressively louder as the final names in the Indiana Fever’s starting lineup were announced Saturday afternoon. Two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana’s longest-tenured player, received a booming ovation. Then Caitlin Clark followed, with fans showering the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year with a cheer eight months in the making, since the Fever’s last game of 2024.
A revamped Fever team began its most-anticipated season in franchise history minutes later against the Chicago Sky. With only five returning players, questions loomed about how a largely new roster would fit.
The Fever provided an emphatic first answer, defeating the Sky 93-58 in a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark recorded her third triple-double of her career, finishing the blowout win with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Including Clark, four Fever players scored in double figures. Aliyah Boston contributed a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. Indiana, which finished No. 11 in defensive rating last season, held its opponent to only 29.1 percent shooting from the field.
The victory marked a step forward for the Fever, who will look to make a significant leap defensively in coach Stephanie White’s first year back with the franchise. (White had been an assistant coach with Indiana from 2011 to 2014 and its head coach in 2015 and 2016.)
“At the end of the day, the best way to learn is just to get into live action and live games,” Clark said before the win.
The Sky will come away with plenty to learn, too. Playing a revamped style under first-year coach Tyler Marsh, Chicago attempted 27 3-pointers, up from the league-low 14.9 it attempted last season, but made just six. Its two frontcourt centerpieces, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese, spent less time on the low block and instead tried to create chances in space. Reese finished with a 12-point, 17-rebound double-double, leading the Sky in both categories. Two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins, whom Chicago acquired in an offseason trade with the Washington Mystics, had 11 points and four rebounds.
At the 4:38 mark of the third quarter, Clark was called for a flagrant foul while preventing a Reese shot attempt. Reese and Boston were assessed offsetting technical fouls, as both teams were sent back to their benches.
“Nothing malicious about it,” Clark said on the ESPN broadcast minutes later. “It was just a good take foul. Every basketball player knows that.”
Indiana and Chicago next meet June 7.
But before the teams play again, plenty will happen in their seasons. The Fever will host the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, while the Sky host the New York Liberty on Thursday.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)