The Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream met in Indianapolis Thursday evening for a game that had the potential to become fully unhinged. The Fever was coming off an intense stretch of losses as well as several media and PR kerfuffles that sparked plenty of conversation online, and the Dream came into town with Angel Reese, who hasn't always had the easiest time of it at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. So anyone who anticipated a sticky game accompanied by a lot of negative fan discourse would have been forgiven for making that assumption — and they were likely relieved by the fact that the two teams just played basketball.
The Dream started Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon, and Angel Reese. The team is focused on this month's Commissioner's Cup, something Reese commented on ahead of the match. "Any small little championship, we want to have and we want to take," she told ESPN at the team's shootaround Thursday.
Unfortunately for the Dream, the team suffered their first loss and are now 1-1 for the Cup. So far, they've raised $400 for The King Center.
The Indiana Fever dominated most of the game
The first half belonged nearly entirely to the Fever, and Indiana managed to hold off the Dream from making one of their notorious third quarter comebacks. Caitlin Clark, who had 17 points, 8 assists, and seven rebounds, later told reporters that she puked at halftime — something that hasn't happened in some time.
The 83-71 win marked the end of a six day span of time that saw the team in shambles. Clark and coach Stephanie White came under fire after they were filmed during a heated exchange in Portland on May 30. The story dominated much of WNBA-related social media and reporting in the days that followed, despite the fact that both brushed the moment off as little more than a moderately intense moment between a player and a coach.
The Fever has also come under scrutiny for revoking the credentials of Scott Agness, who has covered the team since 2013. Despite Agness' decision to publicly address the decision, the team has not responded or made any comment.
The win was the Fever's best of a season that's been challenging. The Fever held the Dream to 29 points in the first half, Atlanta's lowest scoring performance of the season to date.
Both teams have plenty of basketball ahead of them. The Dream will next host the Washington Mystics on Saturday, and the Fever will meet the New York Liberty in Brooklyn the same day.
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