After a Dull Night From Caitlin Clark, Christie Sides Expresses Delight Over Aliyah Boston Saving the Day

After a poor start to the season, Indiana is now slowly getting into the groove. A successful home fixture against the Atlanta Dream meant that the Fever registered their fourth win of the season and third in the last five games. However, this time around, it wasn’t the Caitlin Clark show as the team’s other No.1 overall pick Aliyah Boston decided to make it a memorable affair in front of 16,651 people at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Head Coach Christie Sides was all smiles after her team put up a clinical exhibition in yet another Commissioner Cup fixture. She reflected on it in the post-game press conference. Speaking about Boston, Sides said, “She was undeniable tonight. I watched her warm up. Her warm-up was different. She was more physical. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I thought she played extremely well. Really physical, didn’t back down and finished great shots at the rim tonight.” 

The reigning Rookie of the Year delivered her third double-double of the season. The 34 minutes on the hardwood resulted in a joint season-best 27 points. She also had an all-around show on the boards, as her 13 rebounds comprised 8 defensive and 5 offensive rebounds. In addition to this, the 6 ft 3 in forward was 12-21 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line. Aliyah Boston’s 8 straight points in the penultimate quarter were able to overcome the 9-0 run by Atlanta earlier to hand the hosts a 91-84 victory.

Meanwhile, it was also a rare occasion when the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer had an uneventful outing.

Aliyah Boston overshadows Caitlin Clark

It became one of those rare occasions when Caitlin Clark ended her night in single digits. The 6-foot guard could only secure 7 points along with 4 rebounds and 6 assists. A similar story was witnessed in terms of her shooting by those in attendance, with only 27.27% efficiency in shooting and 16.66% accuracy from beyond the arc.

The turnovers extracted a heavy toll for the 2× USBWA National Player of the Year with her tally reaching 7 by the end of the night. This might have cost the home team dearly, as it provided an opening for Atlanta to come back into the game late in the second half.

While fans would have been glad about the Fever ending up on the winning side, they would have expected a better effort from Caitlin Clark. Nonetheless, the positive takeaway from this fixture for them would be that the team possesses enough firepower to deliver in case she has an off night. That eventually can be a very important development for the franchise moving forward.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.