Fever Refuse to Hang Heads After Loss to Wings
WNBA Indiana Fever

Fever Refuse to Hang Heads After Loss to Wings

Published on May 9, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


The Indiana Fever opened their 2026 campaign at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as they played host to the Dallas Wings on Saturday. The Wings, who defeated the Fever in preseason action, 95-80, earned another victory over the Fever in the season opener, 107-104.

The contest marked star guard Caitlin Clark's first WNBA action since July 15 of last season - a highly anticipated return for the Fever's No. 1 overall pick from 2024.

"Any time that you have the opener of a season or a home opener, there's just a little bit more emotion to it and excitement," Clark said pregame. "...It's one step of 44 games we're going to play this year, so [I'm] just trying to keep it all in perspective."

Clark wasn't the only first overall pick on the court on Saturday. Three more - Aliyah Boston (2023), Paige Bueckers (2025), and Azzi Fudd (2026) - were in action alongside and opposing Clark. Dallas' own pair of No. 1 overall picks, Bueckers and Fudd, competed for the Wings across from Clark and Boston for Indiana.

Anticipation swirled around the arena leading up to the tip-off, and tension was high as Bueckers and Clark dueled in the backcourt. Kelsey Mitchell and Arike Ogunbowale added to the show, and Boston held it down in the post for the Fever.

"I think that's what basketball is about," Mitchell said. "The best trying to compete against the best...There is an excitement across the board for the fans, the players, the coaches. I think everybody gets a little excited to see really good basketball."

It was a tightly contested game - the two teams were never separated by more than five points before Dallas went on a 12-3 run in the final 1:18 of the first half to take a nine-point lead into halftime, 60-51.

Indiana responded early in the third with a 10-2 run, and knotted the game at 69 with four minutes left in the third quarter. It remained close for the duration, and came down to the final fraction of a second.

Indiana had two looks at a 3-point shot to tie the game, but both bounced off the rim and out as the Wings took the victory. Clark attempted a deep 3-pointer with seven seconds on the clock and Mitchell attempted a deeper look with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Clark, Boston, and Mitchell combined to score 73 points in Indiana's season opener, with Mitchell pouring in 30 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Clark's 20 points tied her previous season opener high, and she added five rebounds and seven assists. Boston and Mitchell each surpassed their previous season opener highs, too.

Clark became the fastest WNBA player to reach career marks of 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, and 250 assists with her efforts against the Wings.

Indiana's 104 points on Saturday marked another high - the Fever haven't scored more than 93 points in the first game of the season since 2017, and passed the century mark just three times in all of last season.

"Our offense is obviously not the issue," Clark said. "...[We] figured it out a little bit there in the third. We've just got to be able to do that a little more consistently...Our locker room was positive afterwards, so we're not going to hang our heads. We're going to move forward, [we have] a lot to be proud of, and a lot to learn from too."

The Fever travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday as they take on the Sparks in their second game of the season before returning to Indianapolis for a four-game homestand.

"We've got a lot of good things going," Mitchell said. "When you lose, you take it on the chin and respect your opponent, but you come back more powerful."

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