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WNBA legend and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley considers Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever and Angel Reese's Chicago Sky as rivals. She said the immense general interest that their matches garner makes what they have going a true-blue competition.
The three-time NCAA champion coach spoke about it on CBS Sports ahead of the second matchup this season between the Fever and the Sky on Saturday in Chicago. The game was played in front of a Sky-record of 19,496 people in attendance.
Staley said:
"It's a rivalry in which I like to see these two teams play against each other. Whoever wins, it's a toss-up. For me, yeah, let's call it a rivalry."
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Unfortunately for fans, it was only Reese who was available to play on Saturday, with Clark still out because of a left quad strain.
The Fever dominated right at the onset of the game, never allowing the Sky to get it going. They took a 21-13 lead in the first quarter and and rolled to a 79-52 victory.
Kelsey Mitchell led the way for Indiana with 17 points, with Natasha Howard and Aari McDonald adding 17 and 12 points, respectively.
Reese, for her part, had 12 rebounds, but only had four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. Staley's former South Carolina player Kamilla Kardosa had eight points for Chicago.
Fever now up 2-0 over Sky in head-to-head matchup this season
The win on Saturday was the second in as many matches for the Indiana Fever over the Chicago Sky in the ongoing WNBA season. It was in follow-up to their 93-58 victory in their season-opener on May 17 in Indiana, where they also led from start to finish.
Indiana has been getting the job done over Chicago on both ends in their two matchups. The Fever have been scoring more efficiently (46.5% to 30.4%) from the field, grabbing more rebounds (39 rpg to 32 rpg) and dishing out more assists (19.5 apg to 14 apg).
They have more balance, with five players scoring 10 or more points per game to Chicago's four while also getting more support from their bench.
The win on Saturday was the second straight for Indiana, which improved it to 4-4 this season. Chicago slid to its first defeat in its last three matches and now holds a 2-5 record. The Fever and Sky next play on July 27 in Indiana.
