The Indiana Fever have won two of their first three meetings against the Washington Mystics with Caitlin Clark absolutely balling. She dropped 30 points in their first contest and exploded for 29 points, 13 assists, and five steals in the most recent matchup. CC is fresh off her highest scoring game of the season and is drawing comps to the world’s best, but dominating the Mystics on Thursday night won’t be easy.
It will be Clark’s first time matching up against Brittney Sykes, who was voted the best perimeter defender in the W in the annual GM survey. A foot injury forced Sykes to miss time this season, but she is healthy and ready to prove herself against arguably the league’s best offensive engine.
An old Tweet resurfaced where Sykes gave away the game plan in stopping Clark. She will get her first chance to put it into action on Thursday night, and fans are already letting Sykes hear about it.
Caitlin Clark has the ultimate chance to cash receipts after resurfaced Sykes tweet
Sykes tweeted this during Iowa’s win over LSU in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament where Clark exploded for 41 points to knock out the defending national champion Tigers.
If anyone is reading this ….
— Brittney Sykes (@BrittBundlez) April 2, 2024
STOP Letting Caitlin Clark GO LEFT TO SHOOT HER THREES 😭 my gosh … ESPN even showed a MADE FG visual
Plenty have tried to stop Clark from going left, but it rarely works. She can get downhill going right and her court vision allows her to find open teammates if teams send multiple defenders.
Sykes is an elite defender, including making four straight All-Defensive teams. The 5’9 guard has a chance to prove she can shut down Clark. Fans are already letting her hear it, and Sykes clapped back on Monday.
😂😂😂 nah fans be really pressed
— Brittney Sykes (@BrittBundlez) September 16, 2024
It is a must-win for the Mystics if they want to make the playoffs. Washington is one game back of the Atlanta Dream for the eighth and final spot with just one contest left for both teams. The Dream face the New York Liberty, which should open the door for Washington. For the Mystics to win, it will start with shutting down Caitlin Clark, which is easier said than done.
The Fever are locked into sixth, but Clark won’t turn down the opportunity to put up a masterful performance against one of the W’s best perimeter defenders. Expect her to be on her game. Clark putting up monster numbers and knocking out the Mystics is the ultimate chance to prove Sykes and her tweet wrong.
The 22-year-old rookie is coming off a season-high 35 points versus the Dallas Wings and this is her final tune-up before the playoffs. Indiana may limit Clark’s minutes with their position locked in but expect her to put up monster numbers when she’s on the floor.
The Indiana Fever are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and have the brightest young star in the WNBA. The best is still yet to come, and fans must tune in on Thursday night to see if Clark can once again dominate against one of the league’s best defenders.