New Era, New Energy: Fever dominate Sky in season opener, defense sets the tone
Indiana opens the 2025 WNBA season with a 93-58 win over Chicago, led by Clark’s triple-double and Bonner’s historic night.
The Indiana Fever scored 93 points in their season opener. They had four players finish with 15 points or more. They held the Chicago Sky to 29% shooting and forced 19 turnovers.
Caitlin Clark recorded a triple-double (20-10-10) in just 32 minutes. Aliyah Boston contributed a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. Lexie Hull nearly had one off the bench (9 points, 9 rebounds). And the group came together to ensure veteran DeWanna Bonner had her history-making moment, capping a perfect start to the 2025 WNBA season.
“I know we put up 93 points and still won by (35), but I felt like there was a lot of ways for us to still improve, and that's what's exciting too,” Clark said postgame. “I think everybody's still hungry to go back to work and get better.”
Most importantly, they earned a dominant 93-58 win over the Sky to begin the season 1-0. The 35-point margin of victory ties the second-largest in franchise history, matching a win over the Sparks on July 31, 2011.
Rivalry?
It’s not a rivalry — nor has it ever been. That doesn’t mean it can’t develop into one, but it isn’t there now.
Coming off a 13-win season, the Sky are rebuilding. They hired Tyler Marsh — a former Mad Ants and Pacers assistant — to lead the effort. Most recently, Marsh was on Becky Hammon’s staff that won back-to-back titles in Las Vegas.
A rebuild takes time. The Fever were on their own long rebuild until they drafted Clark — the accelerant who changed the franchise’s trajectory, and the WNBA’s.
Electricity In the Air For This Moment
There was a buzz across Indianapolis ahead of the Fever’s 2025 season tip-off. This group includes six newcomers, led by a revamped front office and a coaching staff led by Stephanie White — a native Hoosier who returns to lead the franchise she once played and coached for.
But this is a brand new experience. She’s grateful to be here in this moment and with this group. She was on a group chat with executives Kelly Krauskopf, Amber Cox, and Lin Dunn — and they were exchanging messages Friday might before the opener. White couldn’t help but think about and be grateful for the trailblazers before them who set the foundation.
“Thinking about the Dunns and Kelly starting with the league from day one and all the players who put our league in position to launch — and then to be successful,” White said an hour before the game.
“And then to hear that there were people lined up for the team store at 9:30 in the morning and to see all the folks that were out and about early today, and Fever jerseys, I'm really grateful for this moment, really excited about our opportunity. And then you get down in the tunnel and you get in the locker room and you get in the office and then it's about business.”
The Fever were all business on Saturday, and I’m not only talking about the thousands upon thousands of dollars that fans were spending on tickets and merchandise to be there. It’s a new era of Fever basketball.
Let The Games Begin
After a delayed tip-off because Liberty and Aces went long on ABC, the ball was thrown in the air and the Fever season was underway. Clark attacked the rim on the opening possession, drawing a foul and hitting two free throws. She then drained a logo 3-pointer almost three minutes into the game from 29 feet, giving her five of the team’s first seven points.
And they were off.
They led by five after one and by 13 points at halftime thanks to another Clark 3-pointer that beat the buzzer.
So many were excited for this day to come, but perhaps nobody more than Clark. She made the past offseason about herself, enjoying life out of the spotlight and focusing on herself. She didn’t go overseas, she didn’t play in Unrivaled. Instead, she got in daily workouts at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — adding strength and confidence in the weight room and new scoring options on the court.
While in the weight room, she distinctly remembers one of the TVs overhead displaying a countdown for roughly 200 days until WNBA All-Star Weekend, which will be hosted in Indy come July.