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Caitlin Clark celebrates after Indiana Fever advances in WNBA playoffs

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax09/19/25BarkleyTruax
Clark
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever advanced to the WNBA semifinals after its 87-85 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night. There was arguably no one in the arena happier for the Fever than Caitlin Clark.

Clark was on the bench during the series-deciding matchup, and was cheering her team on as victory drew closer. She took to social media in the seconds following the game to shoutout her squad. At the same time, she was on the bench celebrating alongside her teammates.

The Dream trailed 86-85 before the steal and had a chance to make the game-winning play. However, Indiana won the game with its defense, seeing Lexie Hull force a turnover in the final seconds to seal the win.

Clark was seen holding her teammates back following the game-sealing steal. There was 1.2 seconds left in the game following the steal and Odyssey Sims split a pair of free throws on the other end of the court to give Indiana a two-point lead. Atlanta missed a half-court heave at the buzzer to send Indiana to the next round.

The Fever star has been nursing a groin injury this season that has limited her to 13 games played this season. After playing her last game on July 15, Clark announced last month that she would miss the rest of the season while she recovers.

Of course, it’s been a difficult adjustment sitting on the bench for Clark, who never missed a game during her college career of her rookie WNBA season in 2024. She was averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals this year prior to her injury.

Despite this, Indiana finished the season with a 24-20 record and earned the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs. They’ve relied on guard Kelsey Mitchell, who averaged 20.2 points and 3.7 rebounds during the regular season, to lead them to the postseason. Mitchell scored 24 points during the winning effort. C Aliyah Boston logged a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds to boot.

Boston was responsible for the go-ahead basket that put the Fever up with less than 10 seconds left in regulation. Indiana ultimately closed on a 7-0 run after trailing by as many as eight points in the contest. It’s the franchise’s first playoff series win in a decade.

While Clark won’t be able to play for Indiana, the Fever will move forward to the semifinals and will face the winner of Thursday’s Game 3 between the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces. The winner of that series will play for in the WNBA Finals.