The Indiana Fever are riding high after a dominant 102-83 win over the Dallas Wings, marking their second straight victory and featuring the first WNBA clash between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, the last two No. 1 overall picks. The Fever unleashed a franchise-record 64-point first half, their best in 26 years. It was the first game between the young stars since Clark’s 2024 Final Four win over Bueckers’ UConn.
Despite the loss, Bueckers led all scorers with 21 points, matching her season’s impressive pace-better than Clark’s rookie year in points, efficiency, and less turnovers. Yet, Clark stole the spotlight with 13 assists, reinforcing her dominance in that category since last season and etching another milestone in WNBA history.
Clark’s Historic Milestone: Fastest to 200 Points, 100 Assists
Clark’s performance against Dallas was modest with 14 points, but her 13 assists pushed her past 200 points and 100 assists this season, making her the quickest player in league history to hit that mark. She reached it in just 12 games, a feat aided by missing 10 due to injury.
She also became the only player ever to have two games with at least 14 points, 13 assists, and 5 steals. She joins Alyssa Thomas, who leads this year with 9.5 assists per game, as the only players to have achieved this feat once. The rest of the players have never had this stat line.
Clark averages 9 assists, trailing Thomas but far ahead of Natasha Cloud’s 6.1, setting up a tight race for the assist crown in the season’s second half. Last year, Clark shattered records with 19 assists in a game and 337 for the season, though injuries this year make repeating that total unlikely.
Her scoring slump-six games without 20 points, five below 15, and a dismal .143% from three (6-of-42) over that stretch, including the worst 4-game shooting span in WNBA history at .295%-reflects her struggle to find rhythm due to injuries.
Road to Recovery: Clark’s Path Post-All-Star Break
The good news for Clark is that she has an easy week ahead with only two games: Tuesday against the worst team in the league, Connecticut, and Wednesday a tough game in New York, before the All-Star break. Last season, the Fever were in rough shape before the break, but Clark had her best stretch then, averaging 23.1 points and 8.9 assists over the final 14 games.
She needs to shake off her injuries and reclaim the form that made her a top three MVP favorite at the start of the season, according to most sportsbooks. Despite her current slump, her teammates have stepped up. Five players scored in the double digits during the win against Dallas, contributing to back-to-back 99-point games in which Clark scored just 26 points. With an 11-10 record, things could be worse for the Fever, and a healthy Clark could turn things around post-break.
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