WNBA: Caitlin Clark fills box score, fuels Fever upset of Liberty

After the Indiana Fever lost to the Atlanta Dream earlier this week, it was clear Indiana couldn’t truly be evaluated until Caitlin Clark returned from her left quad injury.

She was back on Saturday and had arguably her best game of her career, helping the Fever defeat the previously-unbeaten Liberty, 102-88. When Clark has games like this, she is the most electrifying player in the game of basketball. She feels unstoppable, inevitable and you quickly find yourself addicted to watching her shoot.

Instead of letting a play develop, fans devolve into Clark addicts begging for another shot, and with each make, they get even more hooked.

Clark ended the night with 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. That point total is a season high, while her seven made 3-pointers matched her career best. As a team, Indiana made 17 3s, setting a new franchise record.

Sabrina Ionescu tried to keep the Liberty in this one. She had 34 points in New York’s first loss of the season.

Midway through the fourth, the Liberty were down by just three, but Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell went on a 6-0 run to give Indiana some breathing room. The Liberty never threatened again, and the Fever secured their best win of the season, one that also put them in the driver’s seat to represent the Eastern Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game on July 1.

It’s just one game, but Saturday demonstrated the best version of the Fever. When they are this good, they can beat anyone in the WNBA.

MVPhee destroys the Sparks

Napheesa Collier’s revenge tour after losing the WNBA Finals last year has been incredible.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Sparks stood in front of her—and never had a chance. The Lynx easily beat the Sparks 101-78, getting back in the win column after losing their previous game against the Seattle Storm.

Collier ended the game with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists. She did most of her damage in the opening half. Collier had 26 points at the break, which was exactly how many the entire Sparks team had.

One of the few positives for the Sparks in the loss was Rickea Jackson. She had another strong game, scoring 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.

The Lynx win, in combination with the result in Saturday’s third and final game, also has Minnesota in position to return to the Commissioner’s Cup championship game.

Are the Valkyries legit?

It might be time to start taking the Golden State Valkyries seriously. The expansion team is now 5-5 and defeated the Storm 76-70 on Saturday night.

Kayla Thornton had another strong game, leading Golden State with 22 points. Temi Fagbenle contributed 16 points and Carla Leite had 15 points in the win.

Skylar Diggins had 21 points for the Storm, but Seattle was never able to threaten in the fourth quarter. Having entered the game at the top of the West’s Cup standings, the loss sends the Storm into third, below the Lynx and Valkyries.

Jewell comes through and Rhyne was on fire

On Friday, we had a pair of games, with the A’ja Wilson-less Las Vegas Aces beating the Dallas Wings 88-84 and the Atlanta Dream defeating the Chicago Sky 88-70.

Las Vegas came back in the fourth and sealed the result thanks to Jackie Young taking over late in the game. She scored eight-straight points, and then Jewell Loyd sealed the game with a clutch 3-pointer. This was Loyd’s best game as a member of the Aces, scoring 21 points.

Young had 28 points in the victory as Las Vegas found a way to win without Wilson available. Arike Ogunbowale scored a team-high 26 points for the Wings, who are now a league-worst 0-5 in Cup play and 1-11 overall.

On Saturday, Dallas made an attempt to acquire some help, trading for Li Yueru, who had requested a trade from the Storm due to a lack of playing time. With bigs Teaira McCowan (Turkey) and Luisa Geiselsöder (Germany) participating in EuroBasket Women, Yueru should see the playing time she desires in Dallas.

Like the Wings, the Sky continue to struggle, losing a third-straight game in Atlanta.

Rhyne Howard was unbelievable for the Dream, scoring 36 points as she tied the WNBA single-game record with nine made 3s. With All-Star voting opening up, she picked a perfect moment to remind people just how good she is.

Chicago didn’t have many standout performances on Friday, but Kamilla Cardoso was solid, scoring 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

The Fever are now the top team in the Eastern Conference, and the Lynx are No. 1 in the West. Indiana only has one game left to play, hosting the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. Minnesota only has Las Vegas left on their Commissioner’s Cup schedule.

Could we be heading for the Fever-Lynx Commissioner’s Cup title game?