INDIANAPOLIS — As point guard phenoms on the court and the league’s most recognizable names off it, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers faced off for just the third time in their WNBA careers on Friday. A pair of No. 1 picks gave the fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse their due.
Clark led her Indiana Fever to a 98-87 victory with 29 points, 10 assists and three rebounds, while Bueckers carried the recent Dallas Wings with 29 points, six assists and six rebounds.
“It was fun to watch for a while,” Fever coach Stephanie White said of the faceoff. “… I thought they were two great players playing great games.”
Indiana (22-12) has won three straight and eight of its last 10. Dallas (20-15), meanwhile, has lost six of its last eight.
The duel of the third quarter
Clark and Bueckers put on a show in the third quarter, helping their teams bounce back from a sluggish first half. Bueckers erupted for 13 points in the frame, the most she has scored in any quarter this season. The two-time All-Star shot 4 of 6 from the field and drilled two 3-pointers.
Clark gets the best of Bueckers one-on-one as Fever top Wings
Not to be outdone, Clark exploded for 17 points in that period, tying her most points in any quarter of her career on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Earlier this season, when Clark scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of an eventual overtime loss to the Washington Mystics, she drilled five 3-pointers. This time, Clark made one of two 3-pointers and used the gravity of her outside shot to blast over eager Wings defenders for some easy shots in the paint.
“The more I can do that, it gets (the other team) into the rotation and allows my teammates to get open,” Clark said. “I think it kind of opened up the floor for everybody as we got through the third quarter and into the fourth. So yeah, we’re just attacking the basket. Don’t fall in love with the 3-point shot.”
Clark’s night also marked the 20th double-double of her career with 20 points and 10 assists. No other player in WNBA history has more than 10 such games. Clark has 10 this season alone.
“I’m in awe of watching ‘CC’ play, and sometimes it feels like it’s normal – and it’s not,” Fever veteran Tyasha Harris said. “So it’s great to be on her side this year and officially.”
Harris’ perfect night
Harris scored 15 points off the bench and went a perfect 5-of-5 on 3-pointers. The Fever’s backup point guard did not attempt a 2-point shot during her run, highlighted by four 3-pointers in the fourth frame. Harris actually hit her first 3-pointer in the final quarter, a sign of things to come.
“I was shocked,” Harris said with a smile. “… It went in, well, well. It’s still 3, regardless.”
Clark is scared of getting hurt
Clark exited the game briefly with 40.4 seconds left in the first half, appearing to sprain her left ankle after accidentally stepping on the foot of Wings forward Alysha Clark.
Clark immediately started limping and grimacing when they kicked her out. The three-time All-Star cautiously walked past her team’s bench and straight into the locker room. However, she started the second half and showed no signs of fear of injury.
Making just 13 appearances last season, Clark’s playing time was severely limited by a series of injuries, including a bruised left ankle that ultimately ended her season. She was much healthier in 2026, appearing in 30 of 34 games despite nursing a season-long back injury.
Mitchell keeps the streak alive
Fever Keeper Kelsey Mitchell she scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half to extend her WNBA single-season record to 18 consecutive games with at least 20 points. Mitchell was stuck at 19 points late in the fourth quarter before Clark connected with her on a backdoor pass for a layup to keep her streak alive.
Mitchell is now two games shy of tying the WNBA record of 20 consecutive 20-point games, currently held by Las Vegas Aces superstar and four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson. Wilson set the record in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Dallas’ depth problems are symptoms of injuries
Bueckers’ first hurdle on Friday was navigating two sides of the arena tunnel, both sides screaming her name, begging for autographs and getting so violent that a security guard yelled at everyone to calm down. The second was navigating a WNBA game with an injury-plagued lineup. Somehow this seemed like the easy part.
The workload on the team’s franchise player has reached absurd levels, with 2026 first-round pick Azzi Fudd (knee) and All-Star starter Jessica Shepard (ankle) sidelined and backup guard Azijah James (calf) out for a significant period. No one’s denying it: Bueckers needs to figure out how to do more without doing too much.
“Nobody’s going to replace the people that are out, but it’s up to everybody to step up and do a little bit more,” Bueckers said shortly after going through the autograph gauntlet. “(It’s) just kind of reading the game, knowing that I’m probably going to have to be a little more aggressive and just take what the defense gives me.
“That’s a lot of points left on the bench, that’s a lot of shots on the bench, a lot of production.”
It looks like the wait for the Cavalry will last until the end of the weekend and the trip to the Golden State. Fudd essentially went through a full pregame warmup before the doors opened at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. She looked perfectly healthy, moving at full speed.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez said Fudd is probably ahead of the rest in returning.
Shepard, who averaged 14.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, also moved well in a brief look at the end of Dallas’ shooting guard earlier Friday. But Fernandez cautioned that Shepard hasn’t done live work yet to test the ankle.
Best bet, or at least hope? The Wings get both of them back — Fudd, for sure — for a four-game homestand that comes on the FIBA World Cup break.
“Those are the three pieces we need,” Bueckers said of the injured trio. “But we believe in the people in the locker room and we believe in what we have, and that’s how we approach it.”
