Are we sure that the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun played basketball today? It seemed more like a Royal Rumble fight in WWE. The sparks had begun to fly in the second quarter itself when things got heated between Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon, the two old college rivals. The two were caught in a heated moment with Sheldon saying something to Clark, who had no interest in hearing it. The Fever star gave the Sun guard a little push away from her, and the situation de-escalated for a while.

But the brewing storm could not be kept under wraps for long. As Clark dribbled down the lane in the third quarter, Sheldon reached in with her right hand and inadvertently poked Clark in the eye. Clark immediately grabbed at her right eye as Sheldon bumped her once more. Clark responded by shoving Sheldon, to which she was blindsided by Marina Mabrey. To everyone’s surprise, including the commentators, neither Mabrey nor Sheldon was ejected from the game after this incident. 

Clark showed passion at every turn and even hit what fans are calling a ‘F—— You Three,’ over Sheldon after apparently shouting “You Like That?” towards the rival. She further said, “You can’t guard me”  and hyped up the Indiana crowd. This was not the only moment Clark showed aggression towards Sheldon, and they continued to have words at each other throughout the game. After such a heated game, it was natural that the fans would once again pit Clark vs Sheldon as a rivalry, but some are saying this is even juicier than the Clark-Reese rivalry.

Fans Put Clark-Sheldon Rivalry Above Clark-Reese Feud

This isn’t the first time Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon have gone head-to-head. Both were part of the 2024 WNBA Draft, with Clark selected No. 1 overall and Sheldon taken at No. 5 by the Wings before being traded to the Sun. Their rivalry dates back to college, where Clark’s Iowa and Sheldon’s Ohio State regularly clashed as Big Ten powerhouses. After the game today, fans started calling this rivalry more entertaining than Clark’s rivalry with Reese.

“People bring up Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers all the time, but Caitlin Clark’s rival has always been Jacy Sheldon. Every game they play, must-see television,” wrote one fan. Sheldon and Clark have had their share of moments over the years. One of the most memorable came during Clark’s preseason WNBA debut against the Wings in 2024. 

Clark faked a drive to the hoop, then suddenly stopped, possibly catching Sheldon with a subtle shoulder or hand. Sheldon fell to the floor, looking for a foul that never came, as Clark calmly stepped back and drained a three-pointer with Sheldon still on the ground. The image of that sequence went viral and instantly became an iconic snapshot of their growing WNBA rivalry. That image has resurfaced today once again after that fiery game. 

“Caitlin Clark / Jacy Sheldon is the rivalry that the media (incorrectly) expects Caitlin / Angel Reese to be. These ladies have been fighting for YEARS now,”  Wrote another fan. There have been multiple accusations against the media for artificially creating the Reese-Clark rivalry. While that may not be completely true, Clark has not displayed hate against Angel Reese the way she did today against Jacy Sheldon. She did have that flagrant foul against Reese earlier in the season, but it could have been a basketball play, as she said. Because she immediately stepped back from the conflict at the time, while Reese leaned in. That was not the case today as she was fully going at it against the Sun. 

“Caitlin Clark doesn’t view Angel Reese as her rival. Jacy Sheldon is her real rival from this match-up,” wrote another fan. Clark has repeatedly downplayed her rivalry with Reese over the years, while she has been in more than a couple of physical altercations with Sheldon. They had a heated moment in Clark’s final home game for Iowa when Clark and Sheldon tied up with the ball for a brief, heated moment. Sheldon was seen reaching for the ball from behind Clark, who was on the ground, as she shoved her hand away from herself. Many Ohio State fans criticised Clark at the time, to the extent of calling her a ‘criminal’.

“Caitlin Clark has 1 true rival in basketball and it’s Jacy Sheldon…Nobody else can unleash the Iowa demon like Jacy…” another fan wrote. Clark has been comparatively subdued ever since arriving in the league. She is no longer trash-talking opponents, aggressively pumping her fists, shouting after big plays, yelling toward the crowd. While she has still expressed some of those things, it’s at a lower frequency than at Iowa. 

That was her playground; she fully owned the court. On the other hand, she is still fairly new to the W and facing much more experienced opponents. But Sheldon is of the same batch as Clark, and she has no hesitation going all out against her. Their history in the past further fuels the sparks flying between the two. To add to that, when Clark was absent for the previous match-up against the Sun. It was Sheldon who injured Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson with some rough plays.

Sophie got her and Clark’s revenge in the final moments of the game when she brought down Sheldon with a flagrant foul, which resulted in a brawl. Cunningham received a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection. Sheldon got her second technical, so she was gone, too. And Lindsay Allen’s technical foul in the dustup afterward was enough to get her tossed, as well. Talking about the basketball in this game, Clark and co got a comfortable 88-71 win.