The Caitlin Clark fever rose multifold tonight. The leading candidate for WNBA Rookie of the Year dropped a game-high and career-high 35 points to sink the Dallas Wings 109-110. Indiana Fever’s three-pronged offense, concocted by Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell, which thrust them into the playoffs, seemed a bit too hot to handle for the Wings. But it wasn’t all shiny in the end, as Clark exposed a clink in their armor.

First, let’s rewind a bit. Fever’s last game against the Las Vegas Aces ended in a 74-78 loss, extending their losing streak against A’ja Wilson & Co to 0-15. However, Aces coach Becky Hammon was left flabbergasted by the “legit three-headed monster” that was the Boston-Clark-Mitchell trio. However, their defense, might not have been just as appreciative throughout the season.

Caitlin Clark had the same concern after their win over the Dallas Wings tonight. “I felt like I played a good game. My shot felt well,” she said, before addressing the holes in Indiana’s defense that could’ve ended the game differently. “Our defense could’ve been a little bit better, especially at the start of the game,” the Iowa native added.

Clark’s concern was blatantly evident in the statistics. While Indiana only scored 2 on fast breaks in the game, the Dallas Wings easily exploited their defense to score 20 fast break points. Arike Ogunbowale & Co. also found cracks in Indiana’s defense, managing to score 54 points (nearly 50% of the total) in the paint.

Defense has been a consistent problem for the franchise, which has been consistently in the bottom two in WNBA defensive ratings since 2017. Luckily, tonight’s opponent was the only team worse on defensive rating. Yet, the Wings seemed the lesser of two evils. But this aspect went under the radar because the Clark-Mitchell duo created new records for the second game in a row.

Caitlin Clark & Kelsey Mitchell break all-time records in tight win over the Dallas Wings

Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell’s camaraderie has been consistently growing this season. “Our chemistry has really begun to blossom,” the rookie said about ‘Kels’ ahead of Friday’s matchup against the Aces. Lo and behold! In that game, Mitchell scored her 100th three-pointer of the season, making her and Clark the only duo to have made 100 3s each in a season.

Going into their home finale against the Dallas Wings, there weren’t any duo records that were expected to be broken. So they created one. They became the first duo in WNBA history to score 30+ points and 5+ three-pointers made in a game. On a personal statistical front, Clark also broke the WNBA scoring record. In putting up the career-high 35, she surpassed Seimone Augustus’s record of 744 points in her rookie year.

The Iowa native now has 761 points in 39 games. With this victory, the Fever also held on to their No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs. They are 20-19 and will head to Washington to play their last regular season game on Thursday. This is the first that Indiana has made the playoffs since 2016. Will they be able to convert this small win into the ultimate prize?