ATLANTA — Nalyssa Smith had 21 points and nine rebounds, Caitlin Clark had 16 points and seven assists and the Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 91-79 on Friday night in front of a record crowd of 17,575 at State Farm Arena.
Atlanta set a franchise record for single-game home attendance, beating the 11,609 who attended the team’s opening game against the Detroit Shock at Philips Arena in 2008.
The game was played at the home stadium of the Atlanta Hawks due to high demand for tickets to watch Clark, the first pick in the draft.
The Dream’s usual home stadium, the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, has a capacity of 3,500.
The highly anticipated matchup took a hit when it was announced that Atlanta’s top 2022 pick, Rhyne Howard, will not play due to a lower leg injury.
Indiana scored a season-high 35 points in the first quarter while shooting 70 percent from the field to build a 10-point lead.
Clark made his fourth 3-pointer and Indiana’s 10th, extending the lead to 71-60 midway through the third quarter.
This happened during an 11-3 run that ended with them leading 79-62.
The Fever won the fourth game handily.
Kelsey Mitchell had 18 points and Aaliyah Boston had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Indiana (7-10), which won its fourth straight game. Katie Lou Samuelson also added 10 points off the bench.
Tina Charles scored a season-high 24 points, her 37th career score over 20 points, to lead Atlanta (6-8). Alisha Gray added 19 points and Haley Jones added 12.
Atlanta’s next home game, against Indiana, will also be played at State Farm Arena on Aug. 26.
