Fever surge to dominant 99-82 home win over Dream as Caitlin Clark ramps up from injury
The Dream led by as many as seven in the third quarter, but Indiana surged on offense to outscore Atlanta nearly two-to-one to end the game with a 17-point win.
Advertisement
There have been just a few times this season that the Fever have had a full, healthy roster on the floor. Friday night was one of those nights, and the team played collectively well as a result.
Atlanta and Indiana stayed tight throughout the first two quarters, but the Dream went into halftime with a narrow five-point lead thanks to an incredible first half from Jordin Canada. The veteran guard went red-hot to start the game, putting up 26 points and six 3-pointers in the first half alone — both career highs.
But Canada went cold in the second half, and the Dream were unable to keep up as the Fever pushed ahead to a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
Advertisement
Caitlin Clark, who is still returning from a groin injury that sidelined her for five games, had another relatively slow night, finishing with 12 points and nine assists. Clark, who has been on a slump from beyond the arc, went 1-7 from 3, but supplemented with some tough baskets in the paint and some great assists.
With Clark still ramping up, the other two members of Indiana's Big Three, center Aliyah Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell, stepped in as usual. Boston ended with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, but fouled out with less than three minutes remaining in the game. (The crowd gave Boston a standing ovation as she walked to the bench, despite Boston's frustration with the call.)
Mitchell finished with a team-high 25 points, including a 3-pointer that served as an exclamation mark to Indiana's night.
Sophie Cunningham also had a great night, earning a 16-point double-double off the bench. Cunningham put up nearly 30 minutes — more than all of the starters except Boston.
Advertisement
Despite the loss, it was still an impressive outing for Canada, who ended with a career-high 30 points. Dream forward Rhyne Howard, who exited during the first half with an apparent left leg injury, returned to the court in the second half, and finished with 14 points. Overall, though, it was a tough shooting night for Atlanta, which got outshot in the paint and beat on the boards.
As for Clark, it's unclear how long the second-year guard will need to ramp back up to full minutes. Clark finished with 10 points in her first game back, a blowout loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday. And though Clark ended with a near double-double on Friday, she doesn't seem as dominant as usual: Clark only had four points in the first half, and went 1-7 from 3 overall. (Her lone 3-pointer came early in the third quarter.)
Advertisement
Even so, the Fever still look much stronger with Clark on the court — and they'll need that momentum to hold up. Indiana, which is 9-10 and eighth in the league, has three games remaining until the All-Star break. If the Fever win two games, they can pull to .500 or above heading into the second half of the season. Considering that two of those games are against the league-worst Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun, their chances look good.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
21 minutes ago
- CBS News
Michigan ultrarunner collapses, dies during 100-mile Colorado footrace
An ultrarunner collapsed on a high mountain trail outside Silverton only three hours after the start of the Hardrock Hundred, a 102.5-mile endurance race in the southwest Colorado mountains. A photo taken at sunrise Friday along the Little Giant Trail near Silverton. An ultrarunner from Michigan collapsed near Gold Lake three hours into the Hardrock Hundred and passed away. Howie Stern/Silverton Medical Rescue/Facebook Authorities were alerted to a runner's collapse at 9:02 a.m. Friday, according to a press release from the San Juan County Sheriff's Office. Deputies, along with Silverton Medical Rescue personnel and a Flight For Life helicopter team responded to Gold Lake, a small body of water along the Little Giant Trail east of Silverton. Ground teams were able to drive within a quarter mile of the runner's location before hiking in. They replaced race safety personnel who initiated CPR and began their own resuscitation efforts, Silverton Medical Rescue stated on a social media post. An undated photo from Elaine Stypula's Instagram page Elaine Stypula/Instagram Sixty-year-old Michigan resident Elaine Stypula was pronounced deceased at 10:27 a.m. "I want to extend my condolences to the family, friends and community of Elaine Stypula," said Keri Metzler, a spokesperson for the San Juan County Colorado Coroner's Office. Stypula was a resident of Nomi, located in the Detroit metro area. Hardrock Hundred Competitors are given two days to complete the ultramarathon. The average finish time is 40 hours, race organizers described online. The race starts in Silverton and takes runners through Lake City, Ouray, Telluride, and Ophir before returning to Silverton. It also climbs thirteen major passes over 12,000 feet in elevation, with the highest point on the course being the 14,048 foot Handies Peak summit. "The Hardrock 100 Endurance Race has been exceptional in organization and safety throughout the years and an excellent partner to our community," said Tyler George Director of the Silverton Medical Rescue. Race organizers expressed their sadness Friday and promised to make grief counselors available "to any and all" in the community at the Silverton Gym.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio State football loses staffer to SEC school
Just a year after joining Ohio State, Assistant Athletic Director of Player Personnel, Sam Petitto, is leaving Ohio State for a similar job at LSU, according to a report from Rivals' Shea Dixon. Pettito came to Ohio State as a key recruiting support staffer last season after working for eight years under Nick Saban at Alabama. Not only did he win a College Football Playoff national championship ring for the memorable title run last year for the Buckeyes, but he also won some hardware in 2017 and 2020 in Tuscaloosa. Advertisement A Louisiana native, it's a chance to return home to work for head coach Brian Kelly. He had previous stops at Georgia, North Carolina, Grambling State, and Southeastern Louisiana. For General Manager of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni, it is, unfortunately, a similar situation. He has had to replace the same post four straight years and must now try to keep the recruiting machine running by hiring another qualified candidate. As any news on that front becomes available, we'll be on top of it. This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State football staffer leaving school for job at SEC school
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NCAA's Regulatory Chief Stan Wilcox Joins Post-House Wave of Departures
The post-House v. NCAA exodus from the NCAA's national office continued this week with the announcement that executive vice president of regulatory affairs, Stan Wilcox, will retire at the end of July. Wilcox, a former Florida State athletic director, joined the NCAA in 2018, succeeding Oliver Luck in the role. Over the past seven years, Wilcox has overseen what many consider the most turbulent period in the association's history—marked by sweeping changes to amateurism rules and multiple high-stakes antitrust lawsuits. Shortly after taking the job, Wilcox oversaw the NCAA's response to the federal government's investigation into bribery allegations involving multiple college hoops programs. Advertisement More from NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a press release statement Wednesday that Wilcox had originally planned to step down at the end of 2023 but agreed to extend his tenure at Baker's request. 'I especially appreciated his insights and advice during the past year, which has involved more change in Division I college sports than any other in recent memory,' Baker said. According to the NCAA's latest tax filings, Wilcox was the organization's second-highest-paid active employee in 2023, earning $1.47 million. His retirement comes on the heels of other major departures. Just last week, longtime NCAA senior VP of policy and governance Kevin Lennon—the national office's longest-serving employee—announced his retirement effective at the end of August. Additionally, VP of academic and membership affairs Dave Schnase will step down on Sep. 2, concluding a 30-year career with the organization. Advertisement Before joining the NCAA, Wilcox—himself a former college basketball player at Notre Dame—served as athletic director at Florida State University from 2013 to 2018. His tenure in Tallahassee was marked by significant controversy, including a high-profile Title IX lawsuit against the school by a woman who accused former FSU star quarterback Jameis Winston of rape. FSU ultimately agreed to a $950,000 settlement with the accuser. Wilcox also oversaw the departure of beloved head football coach Jimbo Fisher, who left for Texas A&M in late 2017 for a 10-year, $75 million contract. In Fisher's place, Wilcox hired Oregon's Willie Taggart, one of the few Black head coaches in major college football at the time. The move drew criticism from some fans who accused Wilcox of driving Fisher out. Former Florida Congressman and FSU alumnus Matt Gaetz went further, publicly castigating Wilcox—who is also Black—as a 'racist' and a 'stain' on the university. Wilcox defended himself, stating that FSU simply couldn't match the financial and resource commitments offered by Texas A&M. Fisher, for his part, had openly criticized Florida State's investment in its football program before leaving and reportedly pushed, unsuccessfully, for Wilcox to be replaced. Taggart struggled during his brief tenure, posting a losing record and being fired midway through his second season—triggering an $18 million buyout. In hindsight, however, the loss of Fisher might not seem as detrimental. In 2023, Texas A&M paid a record-breaking $77.5 million buyout to part ways with the coach, just two years after tendering him a 10-year, $95 million contract extension. Advertisement As for Wilcox, his move from Florida State to the NCAA turned out to be a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire, as he became embroiled in the organization's more and more tenuous efforts to enforce its bylaws. That included the NCAA's high-profile investigation last year into alleged recruiting violations at the University of Tennessee, centered on NIL-related payments to multiple athletes, most notably former quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The probe ultimately sparked an antitrust lawsuit by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia, challenging the NCAA's restrictions on schools facilitating NIL deals—which effectively stalled the governing body's efforts to enforce its policies on third-party and booster payments to players. Reflecting on the case in a podcast interview last March, Wilcox lamented that NCAA rule-making had increasingly fallen into the hands of the courts. 'It might be good for that one institution, but that may not be good for the vast majority of institutions who all agree that this is how the rules should be and this is how it should operate,' Wilcox said at the time. Advertisement An NCAA spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment about what the association's succession plan for Wilcox is. Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
