A clash of WNBA titans in Indianapolis drew a large audience as the Indiana Fever took down the New York Liberty.
WNBA fever proved contagious over the weekend.
ESPN announced that the Saturday showdown between the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty, broadcast on ABC, set new ratings landmarks. According to ESPN PR, the clash of the WNBA titans was the Worldwide Leader’s third-most-watched game on ABC airwaves, with an average of 2.2 million viewers tuning in. Viewership peaked at 2.8 million, part of a 76 percent rise in eyes on the “WNBA on ABC” so far this season.
There was no shortage of storylines in the Fever-Liberty showdown, which was headlined by the return of Caitlin Clark. Another Fever game featuring Clark, the May 25 clash against the Chicago Sky, holds the record for this season’s most-watched WNBA contest, as Angel Reese’s visit to Indianapolis drew an average of 2.7 million viewers.
The sophomore sensation resumed her role as the face of the WNBA after a five-game absence due to a quad injury, putting up 32 points in Indiana’s 102-88 victory, which finally put a digit in New York’s loss column.
Showing little, if any, rest from her medically-induced departure, Clark electrified a raucous home crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse by tying her career-best with seven three-pointers, and she also dished out nine assists while pulling in eight rebounds. Aliyah Boston also put up an 11-rebound, 10-point double-double for the Fever (5-5), which also secured a potential tiebreaker against the Liberty if it becomes necessary to determine the Eastern Conference combatant in the Commissioner’s Cup final.
On the other side, Sabrina Ionescu put up 34 points for the defending champion Liberty (9-1) on an afternoon where she registered the 2500th point and 900th assist over her WNBA career, becoming the fastest in league history to reach the latter landmark at 153 games. Natasha Cloud also moved past Cappie Pondexter for ninth place on the Association’s all-time assist list.
Another eventful weekend in the W is set be staged on the Worldwide Leader’s airwaves: the Sky hosts the surging Phoenix Mercury on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ABC) before Clark and the Fever hit up Sin City to face the Las Vegas Aces (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
