Caitlin Clark is looking forward to facing Angel Reese and Chicago Sky again on Sunday, but lamented how a show by rapper Russ has prevented the WNBA rivals from facing off in a bigger venue.
The Indiana Fever sensation also insists she and Reese do not have a ‘rivalry’ amid controversy surrounding their recent on-court battles, despite admitting the attention she attracts is a good thing for the sport. .
Tickets for Sunday’s match between the Fever and The Sky start at $230 on StubHub starting Friday night for the third game between the league’s two biggest names.
Speaking after filling State Farm Arena with 17,000 fans as Indiana beat the Atlanta Dream for a fourth straight victory, Clark questioned why Sunday’s game isn’t also held in a larger venue.
“I saw the ticket prices, I guess the only thing that surprises me is that we’re not playing the United Center,” Clark said, before admitting that he didn’t know the rapper had a show scheduled for the night.
Caitlin Clark downplayed her ‘rivalry’ with Angel Reese ahead of their Sunday reunion
Clark and Indiana Fever enter Sunday’s game on the back of four straight wins
‘I thought it would have been really good for the game and for all the women’s basketball fans in Chicago. Maybe there is some kind of conflict that I don’t know about; Obviously, that’s a little above my pay grade.
The United Center has capacity for nearly 21,000 fans, while Wintrust Arena, site of Sunday’s game, has less than half that, 10,000.
While Clark made a questionable claim that his rivalry with Reese and Sky is purely media-concocted, he admitted that he was happy to play his role if it increases interest levels.
“I’m pretty sure the only people who see this as a rivalry are all of you,” she said.
‘For us it’s just a basketball game. That is what it is. If it’s going to help the game move forward, then absolutely. That is incredible. That’s what it should be. People can talk about it.
‘They were excited. We have to erase this (Atlanta’s victory), learn from it. We travel tonight, get there, practice, prepare and then play the next day at 4 pm Like I said, if that’s what’s going to help the game move forward, then absolutely (call it a rivalry).
“I think the previous two matchups lived up to what everyone expected, honestly, really great basketball games.”
Clark was brutally knocked to the ground by Chennedy Carter in the first game against Sky on June 1, with Reese jumping off the bench to liven up the challenge.
Two weeks later, Reese appeared to hit Clark in the head while trying to block a shot at the rim and was flagged for a flagrant foul. Speaking after the match, Reese said Clark gets “a special whistle” from the referees to protect her from her.
Reese and Clark have dominated the headlines lately amid their fierce on-court battles.
Clark admits her rivalry with Reese is good for the WNBA and gets more people talking
She questioned why they won’t face each other at a larger venue in Chicago on Sunday.
Additionally, in late May, Reese deleted a tweet that many interpreted as directed at Clark after the Sky beat the New York Liberty.
‘And that’s about making a WIN in a crowded area, not just because of one player on our charter flight. #SKYTOWN,” he wrote, with a kiss emoji at the end.
Reese and his Sky team did not have charter flights at the beginning of the season, but Clark and Indiana did. Reese also appeared to reference how Clark is primarily credited with increasing interest in the WNBA after being picked first by Indiana in April’s draft, the same event in which Reese was picked seventh by Chicago.
But everywhere Clark goes, people show up and sell out the place. Friday in Atlanta, Clark’s first time playing in the city, was no different. He’s clearly taking a liking to the big stage.
“It’s fun, you can feel the energy tonight,” Clark said. “There are not many who applaud us and that certainly helps.
‘I think it’s energy you can feed off of. You can feel it, it’s something you always want and want to perform for them. You want to be great for them.”
