“I’m Not Scared of You!” Caitlin Clark Clashes with Rhyne Howard in Revenge Win over Dream

Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever went into Georgia to get their revenge win over Rhyne Howard and the Atlanta Dream.

“I’m Not Scared of You!” Caitlin Clark Clashes with Rhyne Howard in Revenge Win over Dream

Caitlin Clark clashes with Rhyne Howard (Image via FirstSportz)

Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever won game 1 against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky in dominating fashion. But in game 2 against the Atlanta Dream, they could not convert the game-winning shot as they lost their first game of the season.

Heading into tonight’s repeat against the Dream, it was on the road, which meant that Clark and her teammates would play in the much larger State Farm Arena. The game started with the two teams pushing each other into making mistakes.

One of the tactics was to use physicality to bait their opponents into fouls. The Fever managed to do that against Brittney Griner. To counter that, the Dream started pressing Clark up from half-court. Olympic 3×3 basketball bronze medalist Rhyne Howard was tasked with unsettling the Fever guard.

With the Fever trailing, Howard continued to bump Clark, and at one point in the first quarter, officials called a foul. The 23-year-old stopped the ball and tried to bump Howard back. This led Howard to say something to the Fever guard, which got a response from Clark.

I’m Not Scared of You.

Caitlin Clark allegedly told Rhyne Howard

Knowing well how Caitlin Clark reacts to opponents trying to get the better of her through physicality and words, her teammates stepped in and tried to calm her down. It took a while for both sides to settle down and resume the game. Howard seemed to be doing a good job, considering she locked Clark down until that point.

Rhyne Howard’s defense led to Caitlin Clark’s struggles

Howard is considered one of the rising stars in the league. She can score at will and also defend the perimeter well. The 25-year-old shooting guard took on the onus of defending Caitlin Clark, and she did a commendable job on the Indiana Fever guard.

Over the first two games, Clark was averaging 23.5 points per game along with 10.5 assists. Howard was aware and kept pressing the Fever guard right from the off. At halftime, with the game close, Rhyne Howard continued to talk trash to both the Fever and Caitlin Clark.

Clark threw a thumbs-up sign at the Atlanta Dream star as psychological battles between them set the tone. Howard used that to hold the Fever guard to just 11 points and 6 assists. Three of those points came off free throws, and Clark missed all of her three-point shots.

On top of that, the 6-foot point guard struggled with foul trouble and had to be benched at times to cool off. This was the first game in a while where the Iowa great was frustrated with her performance and did not stick to her task. Thankfully, her teammates bailed her out.

Caitlin Clark’s teammates bail Fever out in revenge win

With Caitlin Clark struggling both with her performance and her ability to stay on the court, her Indiana Fever teammates had to step up. Natasha Howard led the way with a stellar 26-point outing, which should bring her back into the good books of Fever fans after her misses cost them the previous game.

Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston both fell into foul trouble
Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston both fell into foul trouble (Image via WNBA/X)

Kelsey Mitchell chimed in with 17 points of her own, but the best support came from the Fever bench. Sophie Cunningham, returning for the first time after her injury and the affair controversy, along with Lexie Hull, notched as many steals and blocks as the starters did.

Along with that defensive effort, they added nine and ten points to provide additional scoring help. Had those two not performed, the Fever could have lost this game embarrassingly. However, they managed to prove why the Fever front office invested in these veterans this past offseason.

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