Record Crowd of 17,575 Watches Indiana Fever Beat Atlanta Dream

NaLyssa Smith led the Indiana Fever with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Kelsey Mitchell added 18 points. Additionally, Caitlin Clark scored 16 points in beating the Atlanta Dream 91-79 in front of a capacity crowd at State Farm Arena.

17,575 fans watched Friday night’s game. It is now the highest-attended professional women’s basketball game in franchise history. The previous record was 11,609 fans for the team’s inaugural game against the Detroit Shock in 2008 at Philips Arena.

Caitlin Clark attempts a three-point shot during a WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 21, 2024 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

Many young girls wanted to see their heroine tonight. Additionally, there were interested basketball fans waiting to see what the hype was around Clark. The rookie seemingly took it all in stride.

Allen Iverson watches a WNBA game Friday, June 21, 2024 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

“I’ve never played in Atlanta before,” Indiana guard Caitlin Clark said. “It’s fun going to all these new cities as a rookie and being able to play in front of their crowds. Obviously (there was) a lot of Fever material there, and I thought the crowd was fun. You could feel the energy in the building tonight, and that’s what makes basketball so much fun and the game so much fun for us. So I enjoyed that and thought we played a really solid game.

Indiana scored a season-high 35 points in the first quarter to build a 10-point lead after shooting 70 percent from the field. They finished the night shooting nearly 57% from the field and 52% from three-point range.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Dream have lost four of their last five games. Head coach Tanisha Wright, who was a fierce, intense and relentless competitor while playing in the W, was at a loss for words after the loss. Although Rhyne Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, was out with a left ankle injury, Wright didn’t mince words when describing the loss.

2Chainz and Renee Montgomery appear during a WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 21, 2024 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

“I know it’s my job to get this team to figure out how to play together and support each other,” Wright said.

Tina Charles led all scorers with 24 points. Allisha Gray had 19 points. However, the ability to play connected basketball comes down to maintaining consistency and playing with a high level of mental toughness.

“So you have to admit what’s going on and what’s going wrong,” says Wright. Then you just have to stop talking about it and get out there and do it. This is where we are. It’s not like we haven’t had these discussions, but we have had these discussions before.”

Charles says players need to be honest with themselves and honestly identify their shortcomings.

“We’ve already had these thoughts very early on right now,” Wright continued. “It’s just a matter of going out and doing it, being consistent in what you do. And that’s our fight, isn’t it? Our fight is consistency.

The Dream doesn’t have much time to digest this loss. They return to the field Sunday afternoon against the New York Liberty in College Park.

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