With the Indiana Fever coming to town, the Atlanta Dream moved Friday’s game to State Farm Arena (16,888 capacity for basketball) from their usual home court at Gateway City Arena (capacity 3,500) to accommodate a big crowd eager to see Caitlin Clark in action.
A sellout crowd witnessed the Fever win their fourth consecutive game with a 91–79 victory over the Dream. Clark didn’t lead Indiana in scoring, but she dazzled the crowd with some long three-pointers. She finished with 16 points, shooting 4-for-8 from long range.
Clark also dished out seven assists, giving her 106 for the season. By reaching 100 assists in her 17th game, she joined Sue Bird as the third-fastest player in WNBA history to hit that mark, according to the Indianapolis Star.
NaLyssa Smith led the Fever with 21 points and eight rebounds, followed by Kelsey Mitchell’s 18. Aliyah Boston grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her 10 points.
Atlanta announced a sellout on Friday morning and were still selling standing room only tickets leading up to tip-off. With an official attendance of 17, 575, the Dream set a franchise record.
With that record, the Dream join the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics as teams that have set franchise attendance marks this season – each while hosting the Fever, according to reporter Scott Agness.
Official attendance for tonight is 17,575 — a sellout of State Farm Arena.
Also an attendance record for the Atlanta Dream.
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 22, 2024
Atlanta’s Tina Charles led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor. But the rest of the Dream had a rough night, shooting 36% as a team. Allisha Gray added 19 points, while Haley Jones tallied 12.
Indiana started hot and never let up, shooting 67% (8-for-12) from three-point range in the first half, led by Clark going 3-for-5. Mitchell went 2-for-3, while Smith and Katie Lou Samuelson each added one. Meanwhile, Atlanta shot 38% from the field and 30% on threes.
Indiana’s four-game winning streak is its first since 2015. Since losing three straight to close out May, the Fever have won five of its past seven games. Their record improves to 7–10.
The Dream (6–8) were without leading scorer Rhyne Howard (averaging 15.4 points per game), who suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday’s matchup with the Minnesota Lynx.
Caitlin Clark playing with a ruptured ear drum
Prior to Friday’s game, Clark revealed to reporters that she suffered a ruptured ear drum on a hit during June 2’s game versus the New York Liberty. She mentioned that she had ear pain and difficulty hearing before the Fever’s matchup with the Mystics five days later.
Caitlin Clark exited last game with ear pain after a hard hit. She then practiced both days — and is cleared for tonight in Washington DC five days later.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s still a little hard to hear, but it’s all good.”https://t.co/NkPvJopE4U pic.twitter.com/0I3ClqL6uz
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 7, 2024
“I’ve been popped on a couple screens, actually ruptured my eardrum in New York on a flex screen,” Clark said, via the Indianapolis Star’s Chloe Peterson. “They’re great screens, I just didn’t hear them, so it’s kind of my own fault.”
Up next for both teams on Sunday, the Dream will host the Liberty on Sunday. Awaiting the Fever is a hugely anticipated clash with the Chicago Sky (and the latest meeting between Clark and Angel Reese) that’s resulted in the highest ticket prices the WNBA has ever seen.