By Packed House Sports | May 17, 2025 (posted May 20)
INDIANAPOLIS — The crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse knew exactly who they were booing — Angel Reese, standing at the free-throw line after a hard foul by Caitlin Clark. It was the third quarter of a sold-out WNBA showdown between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, but for a fleeting moment, it felt like college again: Reese and Clark, locked in the latest chapter of a fiery individual rivalry.
But the scoreboard told a different story.
The Fever dominated the Sky 93–58 in a game that began with intensity but ended without drama. It marked Indiana’s fourth win over Chicago in their last five meetings — an unmistakable sign that while the Clark–Reese narrative remains compelling, the competition between their teams is far from balanced.
The competitive animosity between Clark and Reese is real — and marketable. Their clashes at Iowa and LSU elevated women’s college basketball to new heights, and both have brought that edge to the pros. Reese’s flagrant foul on Clark last season was mirrored this year when Clark was called for one after sending Reese to the floor. The hard fouls to make them earn points, the stares, the trash talk, and even the mutual respect — it’s all there. What’s missing is parity.
“Basketball play,” Reese said of Clark’s foul, brushing off the incident. “Refs got it right. Move on.”
The Sky tried to respond. Reese’s free throws and a quick layup by Courtney Vandersloot trimmed the Fever’s lead to 11. But it didn’t last. Chicago unraveled down the stretch while Indiana kept its foot on the gas.
“They’re loaded top to bottom,” Sky head coach Tyler Marsh admitted postgame. “They got a great bench as well. Yeah, we got our work cut out for us, but we’re up for the challenge. We’re not backing down.”
Reese, for her part, looked every bit the competitor — grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds and pouring in 12 points. But it wasn’t enough. Not without more help. Not against a Fever team that looks like a playoff threat, not just a hype machine.
If the WNBA wants Clark vs. Reese to be the rivalry that defines the next decade — the kind that drives ticket sales, national broadcasts, and long-standing grudges — it’s going to need both teams in the ring, not just the stars. heck, The game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky on May 17, 2025, was the most-watched WNBA regular-season game in 25 years, drawing an average of 2.7 million viewers on ABC. The game, which featured a blowout win for the Fever, peaked at 3.1 million viewers. This was a record for WNBA games aired on ESPN platforms.
Right now, it’s a one-sided affair. The Sky have the passion, the physicality, and one of the league’s most magnetic personalities in Angel Reese. What they need now is time — and talent — to close the gap.
Because the Clark-Reese rivalry doesn’t just deserve headlines. It deserves stakes. (AP Photo below by AJ Mast)
