A’ja Wilson is a thorn in the flesh for Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever point guard has rarely put a foot wrong in her rookie year, but she recorded her worst game as the Las Vegas Aces trumped them on Wednesday for the third time. While she shot 6-0f-22, including a poor 1-of-10 from 3, Wilson added insult to injury by scoring 27 points and breaking the WNBA single-season scoring record to surpass Jewel Loyd’s 2023 record of 939 points. But with the playoffs inching near and their season series closing with the next matchup, Clark has made a statement.

Speaking ahead of the Aces v/s Fever season finale scheduled for Friday night, Clark seemed quite confident. The Wednesday loss didn’t faze her, and she made sure A’ja Wilson & Co. knew that. “At this point in the season, you’re obviously very familiar with every single team you’re gonna play,” she said. “This is gonna be our fourth time playing them. I still feel like we haven’t given them the best that we have,” Clark ominously added. “So I think Friday is a great opportunity for us to do that.”

She also vaguely elaborated on Fever’s plans, adding, “It’s one of those where you gotta go back, tweak a few things that didn’t work, add a few things that they might not be ready for, but overall, just continue to be confident in what we’ve been able to do since we figured out our identity and who we are.”

Indiana has indeed scripted a beautiful turnaround after a horrid start to 2024, winning only 3 out of 13 games. But on the back of Kelsey Mitchell’s leadership and Caitlin Clark’s brilliance, they are through to the playoffs after eight years of drought. But the upcoming pre-playoffs test against the Aces awaits.

Las Vegas Aces’ ‘physical‘ defense worries Caitlin Clark ahead of Friday match-up

In the last 14 matchups between these two teams, Fever has never succeeded. A’ja Wilson has been on the roster throughout, watching Kelsey Mitchell & Co. lose. Friday’s game is another opportunity for them to extend their streak, and with their defensive plays that troubled Caitlin Clark on Wednesday, they are ready for the challenge.

“Honestly [the Aces players] are all really good defenders. They’re physical, they’re strong,” Clark said after the loss in Indianapolis. “The offensive fouls are definitely surprising at times. I feel like I do get held and get quite a bit of contact throughout the game. And then you get hit with some of those when you take some contact and give contact back. It is what it is. I don’t know, like apparently they see something different,” she added, referring to the confusing foul calls.

Though there isn’t much to lose for Clark considering she has only just stepped foot into the WNBA, a few more records are waiting to be broken. The Iowa native needs only 5 assists this season to become the single-season assists leader, and 37 points to surpass Seimone Augustus to become the rookie with the most points in her rookie year. She is currently averaging 19.1 ppg and leading the league with 8.4 apg. Certainly, a doable thing for the ‘generational talent‘. But what continues to amaze everyone is that this is just her rookie season. Imagine what she can do in a decade!