Indiana Fever swept the season series against the Phoenix Mercury. For a third time this season, Nate Tibbets and his Phoenix Mercury couldn’t find a way to get past Caitlin Clark and Co. and suffered a 98-89 defeat. However, the Mercury’s head coach, along with the 17,274 in attendance, got to witness some astonishing beyond-the-arc shooting and some smooth playmaking. And while Caitlin Clark wasn’t the real culprit in deep shooting for the night, she did have a significant say in the other department.

Reflecting on the game in his post-game media address, the 47-year-old heaped praises on the dynamic Fever duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Michell. He said, “Caitlin Clark is an unbelievable passer and Kelsey shot the heck out of it. Caitlin made good plays looking for Kelsey. I’m not sure how she was getting open. But we’ll have to look at that.”

Both of them set the stage on fire tonight, as they combined to put up 57 points together. That amounts to 58.16% of the Fever’s total points. In addition to this, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell connected 10 three-pointers (Mitchell being 6 of 13) in total between them and were 50% efficient in terms of field goals.

“This is a three-point shooting team,” Tibbets further added. “Obviously, Caitlin coming off pick and roll. They put you in a ton of difficult situations with their offense and talent level. 24 threes (attempts) between those two. That’s way too many.” 

Maybe the break is the reason for it. Before the game, Caitlin Clark reflected on how the Olympic break was really helpful for her.

Caitlin Clark resets herself for the second half of the season

Some emotional and physical healing courtesy of a nearly one-month break completely rejuvenated Caitlin Clark. It was clearly visible in the way she showed up for work on Friday. The 6-foot guard became the first rookie to register 450+ points and 200+ assists in a single season. Anyhow, the rookie did provide us with a preview before taking the court.

In the pre-game media address, she said, “I think the time off was just really helpful for all of us, from a standpoint of getting reset mentally, emotionally, physically, just because the first part of our schedule was so demanding and there as always so much eyeballs on us, too many people watching, always a spotlight so it’s good to have that reset.” 

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are back with a bang. They get the much-needed momentum before taking on heavyweights like Seattle next. And with the kind of form they are displaying and the fact that this encounter will be at their home court, it would be foolish to write them off.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.