The Battle of No. 1 Picks Turns Into a Fever Dream

The Indiana Fever beat the Dallas Wings 102–83 in a game that felt a little less than normal basketball. Instead, this game felt more like a public humiliation. And by win, I mean a 102-83 blowout that had Dallas fans walking sideways by the third quarter.

The first-ever WNBA Caitlin vs. Paige showdown turned into a culinary massacre. In this case, Dallas was the entrée. The WNBA’s two most hyped No. 1 draft picks finally shared a WNBA court. Paige Bueckers brought the bag, the buckets, and a surgeon’s calm. Bueckers did her thing.

Caitlin Clark? She treated the court like her own TED Talk on ball movement and body bags. Clark the smoke, the vision, and the entire state of Indiana behind her.

This was supposed to be a battle of No. 1 picks. But after the first quarter, it ended up looking like Caitlin brought the Declaration of Independence and Dallas brought crayons.

Caitlin Clark didn’t just run point, dominated. Clark ran the show like she’d written it in Final Draft and dropped the script at Ryan Coogler’s feet. Clark in a night where she could’ve once again broken the assist record and ironically enough against Dallas, tossed 13 assists, snatched 5 steals, and added 14 points in just her third game back.

Also, Indiana tied a franchise record with 30 assists and dropped 64 points in the first half — the most by any team in a half this year.

Dallas? They played defense like the rim owed them money.

Caitlin Cooked & Shared the Plate

The Fever snapped into a different mode during the second quarter, where they scored 36 points on 16-of-21 shooting. It started with Aari McDonald hitting a 3-pointer and didn’t stop until the Wings defense fully evaporated.

Four out of five Fever starters hit double figures. Kelsey Mitchell led the scoring party with 20 points, Natasha Howard added 18, and Sophie Cunningham tossed in 13 off the bench.

 

“We have to put 40 mins together to get to where we want to get to…For three games now with our whole roster and no real practice, I’m pleased with our progress” said white.

Clark dished, darted, and directed traffic like a magician with a clipboard. She didn’t even need to score like she usually does — but when she did, it was smooth, effortless, and timely.

 

“When we have five people in double figures I feel like we’re going to be pretty hard to beat…30 assists on 40 made shots is about as good as it’s going to get..it shows the selflessness of this group…just really proud of this group of how we share the ball” said clark.

Paige Stayed Poised, While Arike Froze

Let’s be clear: Paige Bueckers did her part.

The rookie went 9-of-15 from the field, dropped 21 points, and added 4 boards and 4 dimes in what could’ve been a much closer game if literally anyone else had hit a jumper.

Bueckers was all over the court and never showed an ounce of quit.

However, on her first game back from injury this wasn’t Arike Ogunbowale’s night.

The Dallas legend went 0-for-10 from the field, finishing with just 2 points. It was her first game back from a thumb injury, and yeah — you could tell. Koclanes noticed too.

 

“You can tell she hadn’t played in a bit. Wish some would’ve fell early for her… she’s going to get people’s best… I’ve got to continue to help her” said Koclanes.

Paige wasn’t fazed though — in fact, she seemed even more locked in by seeing Arike grind through it.

“It might’ve not been her night shooting the ball… her being a leader of this team, that was huge for me to see… staying unaffected through the refs (ontinuing to show effort, good attitude throughout the game)” said bueckers.

That’s rookie respect. Paige doesn’t just hoop — she notices everything. That trait is what makes Bueckers even more special as a person more so than a player. Bueckers even was praised by the opposing coach in Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White.

 

“She always stays neutral. She doesn’t get rushed, her pace, her poise, her decision making…when you play somebody that is really high IQ and is elite in all areas…and they just try and maintain that flow, it makes it tough. That’s the difference between good players and great players. It’s fun to watch, not an as opponent on the sideline…for Paige she’s figuring it out” said white.

Dallas Needs Answers

A bright spot in today’s game is center Li Yueru. Since being traded to the Wings, Yueru had a tremendous impact. This contest versus Indiana, Yueru held it down with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, JJ Quinerly chipped in 13, and Aziaha James added 11.

The problem? Defense.

Transition buckets. Second-chance points.

All those “little things” the coach keeps talking about.

 

“Some turnovers, and their physicality in general got into us and made our lives hard,” Koclanes said. “I thought their physicality really bothered us in stretches and took away our continuity… There is no excuses for not getting back.”

Koclanes is not wrong.

Indiana cooked Dallas in transition and moved the ball like they were running a masterclass on ball movement. The Wings have the talent.

They just didn’t have the answers. Koclanes is looking forward to the next matchup vs Indiana though.

“Makes us even hungrier to get them back and protect home floor… nothing’s going to change, we’ve got to stay committed to the little things day in and day out,” said Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes after the shellacking. “Excited to have another opportunity against them.”

Koclanes didn’t panic.

He saw what happened and knows the rematch is already circled in red ink.