INDIANAPOLIS — The crowd’s roars grew progressively louder as the final names in the Indiana Fever’s starting lineup were announced Saturday afternoon. Two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana’s longest-tenured player, received a booming ovation. Then Caitlin Clark followed, with fans showering the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year with a cheer eight months in the making, since the Fever’s last game of 2024.
A revamped Fever team began its most-anticipated season in franchise history minutes later against the Chicago Sky. With only five returning players, questions loomed about how a largely new roster would fit.
The Fever provided an emphatic first answer, defeating the Sky 93-58 in a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark recorded her third triple-double of her career, finishing the blowout win with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Including Clark, four Fever players scored in double figures. Aliyah Boston contributed a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. Indiana, which finished No. 11 in defensive rating last season, held its opponent to only 29.1 percent shooting from the field.
The victory marked a step forward for the Fever, who will look to make a significant leap defensively in coach Stephanie White’s first year back with the franchise. (White had been…
