The Indiana Fever faced off against the Dallas Wings on Saturday in both teams’ season opener. Amazingly, the game was a clash of the WNBA’s last four number one overall picks, Aaliyah Boston (2023) and Caitlin Clark (2024) for the Fever, and Paige Bueckers (2025) and Azzi Fudd (2026) for the Wings.
When the Fever had the ball, Bueckers regularly took on the challenge of defending Clark, leading to some great back-and-forths from two of the league’s premier young guards. Both got the better of each at times, and someone in the stands even caught Bueckers mocking Clark for bobbing her head on offensive drives to basket to help sell fouls and earn trips to the free-throw line.
As frustrating as the moment might have been for Bueckers, she got the better of Clark on the day, with the Wings winning 107-104. Bueckers also won the day in terms of individual performance. The Wings guard went 8-for-1o from the floor to score 20 points in the win. Clark, on the other hand, scored 20 points as well, but went just 7-for-18 from the floor.
Bueckers was appreciative of the win after the game, noting how long it took for Dallas to win its first game in her rookie campaign last season.
“I’m not one to live in the past, but I don’t remember how long it was until we got our first win last season,” she told reporters.
Clark and the Fever will have a chance to even the season series on August 14 in Indianapolis.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.