Saturday was a 40-minute exchange of fire power between the Indiana Fever and the Dallas Wings.
Both are high-powered offensive machines, anchored by two of the league’s biggest stars in Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. In the season opener, it was the Wings who came away with the edge in their 107-104 win over Fever.
There were 11 lead changes, but it was largely the Fever attempting to regain the advantage over a more efficient Wings squad. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 22 points while Bueckers and Odyssey Sims added 20 apiece. As a team they shot 52 percent from deep, on 12-of-23 attempts and outscored the Fever 25 to 12 in transition.
Clark had a shot at tying the game with seven seconds to go as the Fever trailed by three. She shot faked from deep, sending Bueckers flying but her wide open look rimmed out. Clark finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds in her official return to the WNBA. Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points, and Aliyah Boston added 23.
The first round of the WNBA’s newest blockbuster series belongs to the Wings.