Caitlin Clark Commands, New Face Impresses: Fever Takeaways
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever put any hangover from 2025 to the side in dispatching the Los Angeles Sparks 87-78 Monday night.
After the team's season opening loss to the Dallas Wings, Clark's health remained a focus, since that was her first WNBA game since July, as injuries ruined her second professional season. And given she made several trips to the locker room to get her back adjusted, her status was still a topic of conversation.
Clark herself talked about how there is a mental battle in getting all the way back after dealing with the litany of injuries before the contest.
"That moment where my back tightened up, I think I almost got confidence from that because I came back in and I played eight more minutes, so I felt great," she said. "It's something I can take confidence from. But it's going to take me a little bit to really get over the mental hurdle of trusting my body."
Well, she cleared that hurdle with room to spare against the Sparks. Clark commanded the game from the opening tip, with her playmaking carving up the Los Angeles defense.
Clark finished with 24 points and 9 assists. She also continued to impress attacking the basket, as the Fever guard is now 10-for-11 on shots within five feet through two games—an encouraging indicator of where she is physically.
If there's anything to nitpick, Clark continues to struggle from distance. She was just 1-7 from three (9-17 from the field overall), bringing her season total to 3-16. This continues a trend from last season, but of course injuries had an impact there.
Bottom line, Clark was in control and has her burst back, which makes it a difficult prospect to stop the Fever attack.
Ty Harris Gets Real Rotation Minutes
New Fever guard Tyasha Harris also dealt with injury in 2025. She appeared in only five games for the Dallas Wings due to a knee injury and has been slowly ramped up by Indiana in her return to play since signing with the team in the offseason.
But after playing behind rookie Raven Johnson and only logging 4 minutes in the opener, Harris notably assumed key rotation duties against Los Angeles. Harris served as both the backup point guard to Caitlin Clark and played alongside her at times.
She contributed 7 points and 3 assists and connected on 1 of 2 attempts from deep. Her ability to assume ball handling responsibilities and shoot off the ball should make her a fit across multiple lineups. And given Kelsey Mitchell continues to score at a torrid rate (23 points), the Fever backcourt totaled 54 points with Harris's contribution.
The veteran has the trust of the team's coach, since she played a big role for Stephanie White during their time together with the Connecticut Sun.
Fever Defense Improves
The Fever put up 48 points going into halftime, but their 87 points was well short of the 104 they scored vs. Dallas. However, it's the other side of the scoreboard they were most pleased with. The Wings tallied 107 in upending Indiana, but the Fever held the Sparks to just 78 points.
"We only gave up 78 points. We're going to win a lot of games with that," Clark said after the win.
Though that wasn't good enough for coach White. "I want more, coaches always want more," White said as part of a playful exchange with Clark about the defense.
Of course, Clark is correct, and the Fever were able to overcome a night that saw fellow star Aliyah Boston go without a field goal amid foul trouble as a result of the increased focus on the defensive end.
The debut of Monique Billings helped there. Billings filled the starting power forward spot well, bringing defense and energy on the boards after sitting out the first game with an ankle ailment.
All in all, it was a good night at the office for the Fever. Even if the coach is still wanting more.
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Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his popular YouTube channel. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak On SI and Indiana Fever On SI!
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