INDIANAPOLIS — Angel Reese stepped to the free-throw line Saturday as the boo birds rained down their chorus on her at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Chicago Sky forward had just been on the other end of a flagrant foul committed by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, and the sellout crowd filled with Fever fans let Reese have it. The boos erupted into cheers when Reese missed the first attempt off the back iron, and they quieted only a little when she sank the second.
In that moment, at the 4:38 mark of the third quarter, the WNBA’s marquee season opener felt like a rivalry. But by the final buzzer, it was clear that this matchup is not. At least, not yet. The Fever cruised to a 93-58 victory, their fourth win over the Sky in five tries across the last two years. The back-and-forth Clark and Reese exchanged in college — when Reese’s LSU knocked off Clark’s Iowa in the 2023 national championship, followed by Clark ending Reese’s LSU career the next season in the Elite Eight — has not manifested between their teams in the WNBA.
Despite the Fever having the Sky’s number, that’s done little to quell the competitive fire between each team’s young star. There’s no love lost between Reese and Clark, evidenced by the physicality they’ve shown each other as they’ve…
