“I crave wanting to be better,” Caitlin Clark said ahead of the season opener against the Chicago and then she dropped one of the performances of the season in her first game itself with her 3rd triple-double of her career. She was unstoppable with her long threes and her two-man plays with Aliyah Boston.

It was almost a flawless game from the Fever, looking back at it, as they never gave Sky an inch, with four of their starters getting 15 points or above while the Sky had only two. Now Stephanie White has come out and claimed that they could even perform better in the attacking front. What could be better than this, which, by the way, was the largest season-opening win in franchise history?

Stephanie White isn’t new to turning teams into powerhouses—she led the Connecticut Sun to the league’s best defense in 2024, holding opponents to just 94.1 points per 100 possessions. Now, she’s bringing that defensive grit to an Indiana Fever team that has struggled defensively in recent years. Her vision? A squad so balanced it’s a nightmare to guard.

She said in the postgame media interview, “I think when we’re going to be at our best, you’re going to see like seven or eight in double figures nightly Um, you know, I think we have a group that’s much like the Pacers. We’ve got a lot of great balance that’s going to make us tough to guard. It’s going to make us a tough matchup as we continue to grow in attacking matchups and in finding the right shot or letting the ball find the right shot. You know those shots will become easier.”

Just like Clark, good is not good enough for the Fever squad as a whole. Eight double-figure scorers? That will go above and beyond any attack this season. With the other two players chipping in with some points, we can consider their benchmark to be 85, and they had only 18 games last season with more than 85 points. So if they find their groove and Clark is at her best, Fever will not only wow everyone but will blow almost everyone out.

The Pacers, their male counterpart, had all five of their starters dropping double-figure points. Both of those teams are pretty similar, aggressive on the offense but with a defense that could withstand the best attacks too. That balance is a key, they would want to keep at their defense after all it was what let them down last year. Fever had the absolute worst defensive efficiency last year but they are looking so much better now. And they are not even fully acclimated with each other.

Caitlin Clark’s not just a scorer—she’s the engine behind this team. After breaking the WNBA’s single-season assist record with 321 in 2024, she came into this season stronger—literally—having added muscle to better handle the league’s physicality. Her growing midrange game gives defenders even more to worry about. And when it came time to set up Bonner’s big moment, it was Clark who rallied the squad—proof she’s just as driven by team success as her own stat lines.

There were a few missed passes  and turnovers in the first half of the game but it improved as it went on. They can’t judge each other’s will to move at their pace, which led to some failed attacks. The first quarter was real first-game vibes for Fever, as they were very inefficient from close range, missing some very easy shots. That too improved as they ended with 35 from 75 on the field. These are the little things that will only improve with time and they will become a whole different beast after these minor kinks are removed. The first game was not only special for Caitlin Clark as DeWanna Bonner etched her name as one of the greats.

DeWanna Bonner Makes History, Caitlin Clark Shows Class

It was raining records at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse as Clark broke multiple records with her performance but the new entrant in the Fever roster, Bonner, broke a significant record too. The entire stadium stood for DeWanna Bonner as she comfortably put a free throw in the basket. But why was the public applauding for a freethrow?

It was because that throw equalized her and Tina Thompson on the all-time WNBA charts at 7488  points and she went past her with the next free throw. An emotional Bonner hugged everyone as she went back to the bench after that play, which made history. That’s 7,489 career points and counting. Only Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi are left in front of her.

Bonner’s not just a scorer—she’s a winner with two championships and more playoff games than anyone in WNBA history. Her move to Indiana from Connecticut, where she played under White, makes her a perfect fit to guide this young squad and add some defensive bite.

“I kind of got a little bit emotional,” Bonner said postgame referring her historical moment. “To be at this moment, in front of a sold out crowd, in front of all this attention, and to have that moment is just pretty special to me… I’m trying to be as humble as I can, but being around [this] long, I kind of feel like I deserve that moment. And for it to happen right then and there, and in this time period in my career, I’m just so grateful.”

There is no doubt that Bonner deserves every bit of applause she got. Being a prolific scorer throughout her career , she has carved her own path among the legends. It’s not her first time breaking records, as  her 2,162 career points in college basketball are the most anyone at Auburn has scored. Bonner’s career began with the Phoenix Mercury in 2009, took her to the Connecticut Sun in 2020, and now brings her to Indiana for a pivotal season with the Fever.

The moment she got to the historic mark was well choreographed by none other than Caitlin Clark herself. It was in the latter part of the fourth quarter when Bonner was one point shy of matching the record and two short of  snatching Thomson’s chain outright. Clark was well aware of the situation. As the game had already been won with their sizeable lead, she called for Bonner to score the next points during a timeout.

“Hey, let’s get a basket for DB right now,” Clark said as she was mic’d up on the ABC and ESPN broadcast. “Come on, we’re getting DB into third place right now.”

And the players followed her suit as Natasha Howard dished a pass to Bonner as she cut toward the hoop. Bonner didn’t connect on the bucket, but she was fouled and went to the line for the free throws to get it done. It was a night for emotion as well as jubilation for Bonner as she had a solid debut for the Fever, getting 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Her play to steal the ball from Caitlin Clark and lay it in on the other end with no one near her earned a lot of applause from the crowd.  She will be crucial as the season goes on providing her wisdom and experience. She will likely be off primary scoring duties, which will largely be taken by Clark, Boston and co., but she is certainly capable of turning up the heat if she wants to.