Heartbreak News: Caitlin Clark is heartbroken over the……
In front of a record-breaking Atlanta crowd, Caitlin Clark and Fever defeat Dream.
Atlanta In front of a record-breaking 17,575 spectators at State Farm Arena on Friday night, the Indiana Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream 91-79 behind the 21 points and nine rebounds of NaLyssa Smith and the 16 points and seven assists of Caitlin Clark.
Atlanta surpassed the 11,609 spectators who attended the team’s inaugural game at Philips Arena against the Detroit Shock in 2008 to set a franchise record for single-game home attendance.
Due to high demand for tickets to see Clark, the first overall pick in the draft, the game was played at the Atlanta Hawks’ home arena. The Dream’s typical home, College Park’s Gateway Center Arena, can accommodate 3,500 people.
When it was revealed that Rhyne Howard, Atlanta’s top pick in 2022, would not play because of a lower leg injury, the highly anticipated matchup took a hit.
Indiana shot 70% from the field in the first quarter to score a season-high 35 points and take a 10-point lead.
Halfway through the third quarter, Clark extended the lead to 71-60 with her fourth 3-pointer and Indiana’s tenth. It was in the midst of an 11-3 run that gave them a 79-62 lead. In the fourth, the Fever dominated.
Indiana (7-10) won its fourth straight game with 18 points from Kelsey Mitchell and 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks from Aliyah Boston. Off the bench, Katie Lou Samuelson scored ten more points.
For her 37th career 20-point game, Tina Charles led Atlanta (6-8), scoring a season-high 24 points. Haley Jones scored twelve points, and Allisha Gray added nineteen.
On August 26, State Farm Arena will host Atlanta’s subsequent home game against Indiana.
Due to a left ankle injury, Rhyne Howard of Dream is out indefinitely.
Georgia Rhyne Howard, the Dream guard, hurt her left ankle on Wednesday and is likely to be sidelined indefinitely.
The Dream stated that in the upcoming weeks, a schedule for Howard’s comeback to the field will be revealed.
For Atlanta, which is 6-7 heading into Friday’s game against the Indiana Fever, Howard is averaging 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.2 steals.
While driving to the basket in the third quarter, Howard, the 2022 top overall pick and Rookie of the Year, stepped on Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams’ foot, causing an injury.
Before Friday’s game, she was getting around on a scooter with her ankle bandaged.
Howard, a two-time All-Star, is the second American 3×3 Olympic team member to sustain an injury this week during a WNBA game for the 2024 squad. Due to a torn ACL in her left knee, Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink will miss the remainder of the WNBA season as well as the Olympics.
