The Indiana Fever have officially clinched their spot in this season’s WNBA playoffs, the exclamation point of a phenomenal rebuilding effort by Caitlin Clark and her teammates.
Clark and the Fever will only get a chance to rest easy on Wednesday morning due to losses to two other teams, including their close rivals, the Chicago Sky.
The Sky-Fever matchups have been some of the most anticipated in the WNBA this season with star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese facing off.
The Fever won the season series against the Sky 3-1, and Clark’s season-high 31 points came in the last meeting between the Midwest rivals.
The Las Vegas Aces were the ones who handed the Sky a loss on Tuesday night, while the Atlanta Dream were also defeated on Tuesday, clearing the path for Indiana to the playoffs.
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs on Tuesday night
The playoff spot came with losses to the Atlanta Dream and the Reese-led Chicago Sky.
The Phoenix Mercury also qualified for the WNBA playoffs by defeating Atlanta.
Seven of the league’s eight playoff spots are already secured, with the Sky and Dream tied for last place at 11-23. The Washington Mystics are a half-game behind that duo.
The Fever have seven games left in the regular season and are three games behind the fifth-place Seattle Storm.
Indiana started the season 1-8, and it looked like a rebuild would have to wait until next season.
Since then, the Fever have a 16-8 record, one of the best in the WNBA, which allowed them to rise in the standings and overcome six teams to secure a playoff spot.
Now the only question is whether Reese can join Clark in the postseason in her first year in the WNBA.