The Indiana Fever fans entered the 2025 WNBA season with expectations after a breakthrough playoff appearance ended a seven-year drought, fueled largely by Caitlin Clark’s electric rookie campaign. With momentum on their side and a roster packed with young talent, many anticipated a dominant follow-up. Instead, the Fever have spent much of the season hovering around the .500 mark, struggling to find consistency due to injury. But after the last game against the Wings, make no mistake: this team is talented, hungry, and is leaving hints for others to pick. The second half of their story might just flip the script, and teams are noticing.
And if anybody is learning, it is the Wings. With playoff chances slipping, the Dallas Wings are in a do-or-die situation as the 2025 season hits its critical stretch. Despite boasting top-tier talent like Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale, the team has struggled with inconsistency, injuries, and defensive breakdowns. Their lack of depth and letting the game slip has cost them crucial wins, turning a once-promising campaign into an uphill battle. But what happened against the Fever was traumatizing.
In Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers’ first WNBA matchup, the Fever guard led her team to a dominant 102-83 victory. She led her team with a 14-point and 13-assist double-double. Despite Paige Bueckers putting up a 21-point performance, the Fever dominated the game to notch their 11th win of the season. While the Dallas Wings fell to a 6-16 record. Speaking after the game, Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes spoke about the team’s hunger and plans for the future.
When asked how the team is looking forward to the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings’ matchup of the season, on the home court, Koclanes was quick to console Dallas fans. Answering the reporter’s questions, he said, “Yeah, just makes us even hungrier right to want to get them back and protect home floor and be back on that floor in Dallas, where we’ll be moving to and really showing the community who we are and what we’re all about.”
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) huddles with her teammates during the game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Fever at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The coach also stressed that the team needs to stay committed. He elaborated, “But again, nothing’s gonna change. We’ve got to stay committed to the little things day in and day out. But excited to have another opportunity against them (Indiana Fever).” The Dallas Wings head coach has also seemed to keep calm and control the dressing room during this hard season. The Wings may be languishing near the bottom of the league, but if we’re being fair, they have had a lot of injury setbacks.
Despite this, Chris Koclanes has always seemed to calm the dressing room and stressed the importance of playing the game the right way. But calmness alone can’t bring the Championship. And having someone like Paige Bueckers on your side, the ambitions are nothing less.
From March Madness to the W: Clark and Bueckers Write the Next Chapter
Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers have been compared to each other since their college careers. From playing the same position, having an eerily similar play style, and even their draft positions, their career have followed a close and similar trajectory. With so many similarities, there was always going to be a huge build-up for their matchups.
Throwback to history: In their 2024 Final Four matchup, Clark led her Iowa Hawkeyes to a victory over Bueckers’ UConn in the Final Four of the March Madness 2024. The game was an exciting affair with the Hawkeyes narrowly edging out the Huskies in a 71-69 win to move into the NCAA Championship game. Since then, all hopes were on their pro meet.
However, in their first potential meeting, injury played a spoilsport as Caitlin Clark missed the game due to injury. Regardless, the Fever won that matchup with a 94-86 win. But their second match-up lived up to the expectations. Both players had amazing games, with CC having a double-double and Bueckers having an efficient 21-point game.
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: Final Four National Semifinal-Connecticut vs Iowa Apr 5, 2024 Cleveland, OH, USA Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark 22 controls the ball against Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers 5 in the fourth quarter in the semifinals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse OH USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKirbyxLeex 20240405_lbm_al2_184
Although the Fever dominated the game and won the game comfortably, both players’ brilliance was on full display. With both teams set to face off against each other for the third time this season on August 1, 2025, the Dallas Wings will be eager to get some payback. Will Caitlin Clark extend her lead over Bueckers, or will Paige finally win a match-up against CC? We’ll have to wait and see.
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