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‘I was due’: Caitlin Clark leads Indiana Fever past Sparks to first win of season

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‘I was due’: Caitlin Clark leads Indiana Fever past Sparks to first win of season


Caitlin Clark had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her first WNBA double-double and the Indiana Fever beat Los Angeles 78-73 on Friday night to snap a season-opening five-game skid in front of a Sparks record crowd of 19,103 that included several Hollywood stars.

“The first one feels really good,” said Clark, who also had eight assists.

Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana (1-5) with 18 points and Aliyah Boston and Temi Fagbenle had 17 each.

Clark’s rebounds were a career high. She missed her first seven three-point attempts, but finally made one of her trademark deep threes with 2:27 remaining in the game, triggering an explosion of cheers and applause. A giddy Clark high-fived actor and Iowa native Ashton Kutcher sitting courtside.

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“That’s a fellow Hawkeye, somebody that’s been very supportive of me over the course of my college career,” she said. “He was encouraging me the whole game.”

The game featured the youth and future of the WNBA, with No 1 draft pick Clark playing against No 2 pick Cameron Brink and fourth selection Rickea Jackson of the Sparks.

“They’re making a huge impact in our league,” Fever coach Christie Sides said before the game.

Brink had 15 points and nine rebounds and Jackson added a career-high 16 points off the bench for the Sparks (1-3). Dearica Hamby had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Jason Sudeikis, Rosie O’Donnell, Kathy Griffin, DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, USC star JuJu Watkins along with teammate Rayah Marshall and coach Lindsay Gottlieb were among the sellout home crowd for the Sparks’ first game at Crypto.com Arena this season.

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“The crowd was absolutely amazing, especially there at the end,” Clark said. “They were into it, they were invested.”

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) greets actor Ashton Kutcher after making a fourth-quarter three-pointer on Friday night. Photograph: Ashley Landis/AP

After trailing by 11 points early in the game, Boston, Fagbenle and Mitchell dominated the fourth quarter, with Mitchell hitting back-to-back three-pointers.

Brink made a three-pointer and Lexie Brown scored to draw the Sparks within 73-71. But Clark answered with her second deep three-pointer with about 40 seconds left and the crowd roared again as Indiana stayed in front, 76-71.

“I was due, like they had to go in,” said Clark, who was 4 of 14 from the field, 2 of 9 on three-point attempts. “I had missed so many throughout the game.”

The Fever were just 7 of 25 from long range; the Sparks also struggled, going 5 of 24.

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The Sparks played their first two home games in Long Beach, but with Clark and the Fever in town the game was moved to downtown Los Angeles.

Trailing 45-34, the Fever opened the third quarter on a 16-3 run to lead 50-48. Fagbenle and Boston combined to score all of Indiana’s points, with Fagbenle’s 3-pointer capping the spurt. Clark didn’t score but she came up with a big steal at midcourt and after she missed Boston scored.

“She was running our offense. She’s learning her system, learning her players,” Sides said of Clark. “She hit some huge shots and did everything we needed her to do.”

The teams meet again Tuesday in Indianapolis.





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Indiana

Heavy rain soaks central Indiana, but drought relief uneven across the state

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Heavy rain soaks central Indiana, but drought relief uneven across the state


Central Indiana has seen a very wet start to March, with several rounds of rain and storms moving through the region over the past few days. In fact, the city of Indianapolis has already received more rain in the first four days of the month than it typically gets during the entire month of March.

So far this month, Indianapolis has recorded 3.90 inches of rainfall, which already exceeds the normal March monthly average of 3.79 inches. Much of that rain came during a widespread soaking on Tuesday, when a strong system pushed steady showers and thunderstorms across the state.

Some of the highest totals over the past three days have been recorded across central Indiana. Rain gauges show 5.86 inches in Marion County, 5.02 inches in Morgan County, 4.97 inches in Hancock County, 4.95 inches in Shelby County, 4.57 inches in Johnson County, and 4.26 inches in Hendricks County. These totals represent a significant amount of rainfall in a short period of time and have left many areas with saturated ground and standing water in low spots.

Despite the widespread rainfall, the impact on drought conditions has been somewhat uneven across the state. According to the latest drought monitor, the areas that received the heaviest rain over the past few days are largely the same areas that were already in relatively good shape in terms of moisture levels. Meanwhile, parts of northern Indiana that have been dealing with more persistent dryness have seen much lighter totals.

Cities such as Kokomo, Lafayette, and Muncie have generally picked up less rain compared to areas farther south. Forecast models suggest that pattern may continue over the next several days.

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Additional rainfall is expected through Thursday, with another round possible around midday Saturday. Current projections show the best chance for another inch or more of rain focusing once again across the southern half of the state, while northern Indiana may see lower totals.

That means while the recent rain has certainly helped improve soil moisture in many areas, it may not fully address the lingering dryness farther north. For now, the pattern remains active, and Hoosiers should expect more wet weather before the system finally begins to move out later this weekend.



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Watch Indiana basketball’s Lamar Wilkerson give his mom a Cadillac

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Watch Indiana basketball’s Lamar Wilkerson give his mom a Cadillac


Indiana basketball sharpshooter Lamar Wilkerson is known for his generosity.

Upon joining the Hoosiers, he gave a tidy sum of his NIL earnings to his previous program, Sam Houston State.

“I was blessed to be able go from that, from not having a lot, to being here, having a lot more than I even knew what to do with,” Wilkerson said at the time. “I just thought, I can give them this.”

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He upped the ante on IU’s Senior Night, giving his mother a Cadillac after the Hoosiers throttled Minnesota.

You could imagine her reaction.

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.



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Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch

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Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch


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  • The Indiana Hoosiers have lost four straight games and are scrambling to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
  • The Minnesota Golden Gophers are trying to reach .500 for the season. They beat IU in a Big Ten opener in December.

Indiana (17-12, 8-10 Big Ten) has no room for air as it hosts Minnesota (14-15, 7-11). The Hoosiers have lost four in a row, leaving them on the NCAA Tournament bubble, while the Golden Gophers have won three of their last four. Minnesota beat IU in a conference opener.

We will have score updates and highlights, so remember to refresh.

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What time does Indiana basketball play Minnesota tonight, March 4? Start time for Minnesota basketball vs Indiana on Wednesday, March 4, 2026

  • The Indiana-Minnesota game is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

Where to watch Indiana vs. Minnesota tonight, March 4? What channel is the Minnesota-Indiana on college basketball game today?

Watch college basketball with a free Fubo trial

Indiana vs. Minnesota predictions tonight, March 4

  • Zach Osterman, IndyStar: Indiana 75-69 
  • “Indiana is on the ropes. Minnesota has nothing to lose. Gophers already beat IU once this year. So picking Minnesota here is going to be trendy. Too trendy. The Ohio State game is tougher to forecast, but the Hoosiers win here.”
  • Michael Niziolek, Herald-Times: Indiana 78-70
  • “Can Minnesota spoil IU’s Senior Night? The Gophers upended Indiana in Darian DeVries’ Big Ten debut earlier this season and have been a tough out in conference play. They are just 7-11, but six of those losses are by single digits and two of those came in overtime. The Hoosiers need to do a better job of locking down the perimeter while getting a more balanced scoring effort. Indiana should be able to pull this one out and keep its NCAA Tournament chances alive for another night.”

Where to listen to Indiana vs. Minnesota tonight, March 4, 2026

How much are Indiana vs. Minnesota tickets tonight, March 4, 2026?

IU basketball tickets on StubHub

Basketball rankings college: Indiana vs. Minnesota

As of March 2

(all times ET; with date, day of week, location and opponent, time, TV)

  • 0, Jasai Miles
  • 1, Reed Bailey
  • 2, Jason Drake
  • 3, Lamar Wilkerson
  • 4, Sam Alexis
  • 5, Conor Enright
  • 6, Tayton Conerway
  • 7, Nick Dorn
  • 10, Josh Harris
  • 11, Trent Sisley
  • 12, Tucker DeVries
  • 13, Aleksa Ristic
  • 15, Andrej Acimovic

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.



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