Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The two leading contenders for the Rookie of the Year award faced off on Friday, with Kaitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever defeating Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky 100-81.
Clark outperformed Reese in the win, finishing with 31 points, 12 assists and four rebounds while hitting five threes on the night.
Clark set two records with the win, surpassing Ticha Penicheiro for the most games with 10 or more assists by a freshman in WNBA history with nine games and becoming the first player in WNBA history with 23-plus points and 12-plus assists.
WNBA ,WNBA
New day, new record 🔥
With her 10th assist of the night, Caitlin Clark surpassed Ticha Penicheiro for the most 10+ AST games by a rookie in WNBA history with 9!#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/ETb6gYXAqT
Reese finished with 10 points and 11 boards, also setting two records for most double-doubles by a freshman with 23 and most rebounds by a freshman with 399.
Clarke possibly had the edge over Reese in the contest, but after Clarke outperformed Reese in the win, fans officially declared that the Rookie of the Year race was over.
Clark is averaging 18 points, 8.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds this season and has improved since returning from the Olympic break. While Clark has been on a roll this year, Reese has also been impressive, averaging 13.3 points and 12.9 boards per game.
While it’s natural for the social media world to engage in the ‘Rookie of the Year’ debate, Clark made it clear before the game that he and Reese’s focus is on winning the game.
“I think both Angel and I would give you the same answer,” Clark said when asked about the topic Friday. indianapolis star Evan Frank“We don’t wake up in the morning and think about individual awards. I know that’s what you all think we do. I know we don’t. That’s what everybody wants to think about. Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus.”
With the win, Indiana improved to 16-16 on the year and is now tied with the Phoenix Mercury, who are sixth in the WNBA standings. The Sky have dropped to 11-20 but are still in playoff position at eighth.