Caitlin Clark And Fever Reach Up And Beat The Sky And Angel Reese In Thriller

The final seconds ticked down as Caitlin Clark caught a pass from a teammate within range of her patented, logo 3-pointer.

But she just tossed the ball up to the sky as high as she could. And when it came down, the must-see Indiana Fever had its first home win of the season and just second of 10 games - 71-70 over the Chicago Sky in front of another sell-out crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

MEAN GIRLS REBOOT: It's Caitlin Vs. Angel Again

Indiana guard Caitlin Clark dribbles away from Chicago forward Angel Reese in their nationally televised game Saturday afternoon that Indiana won in front of a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Getty Images)

Clark scored only 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and was just 2 of 9 from 3-point range, but she'll take the rare win for the Fever (2-8), which had lost four straight at home. 

"It feels really good," Clark said after the game on ESPN. "And honestly, I don't feel like we played that great of a game. We really struggled offensively. But great defense - that's what it's going to take to win. And once we get the offense going, it's going to be special."

Sky's Chennedy Carter Blatantly Shoulder Checks Caitlin Clark To The Ground: VIDEO

The nationally televised high noon game on ESPN lived up to its billing, matching Clark against her college nemesis for the first time in the WNBA. Former LSU forward Angel Reese led the Tigers over Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes, 102-85, in the 2023 national championship game, then taunted Clark afterward with her ring finger.

Indiana point guard Caitlin Clark battles Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese for position during the second quarter of the Fever's win Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.(Getty Images)

The first pick of the WNBA Draft last April, Clark added eight rebounds and six assists from point guard. Reese, the seventh pick of the draft, scored only eight points for Chicago (3-4) on 2-of-8 shooting, but had 13 rebounds.

Clark took a 2-1 lead over Reese as Iowa beat LSU, 94-87, last March to reach the Final Four.

Caitlin Clark's Layup Put Indiana Up By 9 Late

The game was close throughout with Indiana up 17-14 after the first quarter, 35-33 at the half and 54-49 entering the fourth quarter. Clark's driving, twisting layup put Indiana in control at 68-59 with 3:36 left.

But the Sky stormed back behind center Kamilla Cardoso - the third pick of the ‘24 draft. Cardoso played for the first time all season after suffering a shoulder injury and scored 11 points with six rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting in just 18 minutes. Cardoso’s layup cut Indiana's lead to 68-67 with 1:35 left and completed an 8-0 run.

Chicago could have tied the game with 6.6 seconds left, but Marina Mabrey made just one of two free throws to cut Indiana's lead to 71-70. Erica Wheeler dribbled out the clock after catching a long inbound pass, then fed Clark as the final seconds ticked away and the capacity crowd exploded.

The Fever have already drawn more fans at home in five games than it did through 20 at home last year in a 13-27 season.

"Our fans were awesome today," Clark said. "So it was fun."

Load Management For Fever?

Indiana plays again Sunday on the road at the New York Liberty (5-2) at 7 p.m. on NBA TV. That will be the Fever's sixth game in 10 days before its first run of consecutive days off all season with its next game on Friday at 0-7 Washington (6:30 p.m., ION TV).

"Next week, we're going to have a chance to have some good practices," Clark said. "But we've got another game tomorrow. Hopefully, this game gives us some confidence."