Indiana

This time it's Angel Reese’s turn: Sky rookie leads comeback win against Fever

Published

7 months ago

June 24, 2024

This time it's Angel Reese’s turn: Sky rookie leads comeback win against Fever

Wintrust Arena was a mix of old and new Sunday for the highly anticipated third meeting of the season between the Sky and Fever.

On one end of the court — across from the Sky’s bench — sat Margaret Stender, the team’s founding president and CEO, with actor Jason Sudeikis two seats down. Kitty-corner from them, near the Fever, were Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and rapper Lil Durk alongside a row of longtime season-ticket holders.

The proximity between the long-timers and new supporters represented what is happening in the WNBA at this moment.

After years of steadily increasing interest and longstanding loyalty from diehard fans, the league is being catapulted to new heights. Two rookie are responsible: the Sky’s Angel Reese and the Fever’s Caitlin Clark.

The Sky’s 88-87 victory — in which they rallied from a 15-point deficit, sparked by a fourth-quarter burst from Reese — signaled these teams are future titans of the WNBA. It’s only a matter of time.

‘‘Everybody’s watching right now,’’ Reese said. ‘‘It’s one of the most important times. Both teams did an amazing job putting on a show.’’

The game was a masterpiece between two teams reluctant to call what’s budding a rivalry. But the jawing, fan response, ticket prices and level of play spoke for itself.

With a little more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Fever’s NaLyssa Smith caught a lob pass from teammate Aliyah Boston and scored against Reese in the paint. She followed up her basket with the player-favorite ‘‘too small’’ gesture.

‘‘I didn’t even see it,’’ Reese said. ‘‘My teammates had to tell me she did that.’’

Reese might not have seen it, but she responded like a competitor, unwilling to be mocked on her home court. She proceeded to go on a 10-point tear, shooting 4-for-5 from the field in the last six minutes.

Reese notched her eighth consecutive double-double with a career-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 16 rebounds. She is the first rookie since two-time MVP A’ja Wilson with 25 or more points and 15 or more rebounds in a game.

“I’m a dog,” Reese said postgame to ESPN reporter Holly Rowe. “You can’t teach that.”

Fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso had a double-double, as well, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Together, the Sky’s ‘‘skyscrapers’’ — as they’ve been dubbed by fans — outrebounded the entire Fever team 26-25.

‘‘Electric’’ was the word Reese used to describe the fourth quarter, as the deafening cheers of the sellout crowd consumed Wintrust Arena.

‘‘The energy in there was amazing,’’ Reese said. ‘‘I couldn’t hear at times.’’

Between Reese’s late-game heroics and Clark’s magician-like facilitating, the game lived up to its billing.

At times, the cheers in response to Clark’s five three-pointers made it sound like a home crowd for the Fever. She finished with 17 points and set a franchise record for assists in a game with 13. Clark also became the first rookie in 10 years to have a double-double in points and assists.

The game between the teams June 15 was the most-viewed WNBA game in 23 years, averaging 2.25 million viewers. The game Sunday, which was televised by ESPN, is likely to be an even bigger blockbuster, with ratings expected to be public by Tuesday.

What’s already clear is that these franchises have the potential to play each other in the postseason for years. All it will take is both franchises continuing to develop, so they’ll be ready to take the reins when the inevitable transfer of power from the current giants in the league takes place.

If Sunday indicated anything, it’s that Reese and Clark already are nipping at the heels of those whose records they’re breaking.

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Indiana

Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?

Published

6 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?

The Bloomington area will get more snow today. Here’s how much the National Weather Service now expects to fall and when.

How much snow will Monroe County get Friday?

Aaron Updike, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said the Bloomington area is expected to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow.

Southern parts of Indiana could see even more, with Bedford projected to get close to 4 inches and areas closer to Louisville possibly seeing 6 inches.

When will the snow fall today in the Bloomington area?

Updike said the NWS expects the snow to begin around 11 a.m. and end about 12 hours later. However, he said, the day will bring periods of lulls and peaks, though those are more difficult to predict.

Generally, Updike said, the heaviest accumulation will occur from mid-to-late afternoon, around 2 to 6 p.m.

He urged commuters to take extra time and care, as they may experience slippery roads and sidewalks on their way home.

What kind of snow will be falling in Indiana on Friday?

Updike said the snow should be light and fluffy. The NWS expects only light wind, with gusts of 10 to 15 mph, which means the area should not expect to see much drifting snow.

How cold will it get in the Bloomington area tonight?

The NWS projects that the cloud cover will hang around the area for a while, which will contribute to temperatures falling only to about 20 degrees.

Is there a chance of snowmelt any time soon in Indiana?

Updike said temperatures should rise to near freezing on Sunday, and the area also might see some pockets of sunshine, which should help melt some snow especially on pavement and roads.

However, he said temperatures will not rise enough in the next few days to melt all of the snow.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

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Indiana

Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star

Satou Sabally was immediately linked to the New York Liberty after announcing that she has played her final game for the Dallas Wings during Unrivaled Basketball’s media availability on Thursday. However, the Indiana Fever are another team who were recently mentioned as a possible trade suitor for the two-time All-Star, via Chloe Peterson of indystar.com.

Satou Sabally announced during Unrivaled media availability that she will not be returning to Dallas, and she has already communicated that with the franchise.
She could be a huge target for the Fever, if Indiana is able to put together a lucrative enough trade package.
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) January 9, 2025

Sabally’s announcement was the primary discussion swirling around the WNBA world on Thursday. The Wings will have the option to core Sabally, which will likely lead to a trade given her comments on Thursday. The chances of Dallas simply letting Sabally walk in free agency while passing on the option to core her are slim, but Sabally will likely still end up with a new team for the 2025 season.

The question is which team will she end up with? The defending-champion Liberty have Satou’s sister Nyara Sabally on the roster, so that may catch Satou’s attention. Joining an up-and-coming team like the Fever may also entice Satou, though.

There will be other candidates aside from Indiana and New York, of course. The Fever and Liberty both make sense as possible trade destinations for Satou Sabally, however. At only 26 years old, Sabally features the ceiling of a true superstar. If she can stay healthy, Sabally can significantly impact any team she joins.

Fever could trade for Satou Sabally

Sabally would add more star-power alongside Caitlin Clark in Indiana. Clark instantly became one of the most popular players in the WNBA in her rookie season during the 2024 campaign. Adding a star or two would help Indiana, though.

The Fever reached the postseason but were quickly eliminated in the first round. Indiana’s future remains bright, but they need to upgrade the roster around Clark. Sabally would turn the Fever into serious contenders.

If the Liberty find a way to acquire Sabally, however, the rest of the WNBA may be in trouble. With Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones already on the roster, the Liberty project to be a championship contender once again. Assuming Stewart returns, the Liberty will compete with or without Sabally, but adding her to the roster would turn New York into a super-team.

Sabally’s announcement on Thursday is already changing the landscape of the WNBA. Rumors will continue to swirl over the next few months. If Sabally is traded, which is seemingly expected at this point, whichever team acquires her will take a big step forward.

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Indiana

Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana

It was the coldest morning of the season so far across Central Indiana. For Indianapolis, we had our coldest temperatures since January 21, 2024 with a low of 5°. Crawfordsville and Columbus both had balmy lows of -8°. The clear skies, light winds and fresh snowpack allowed more heat to be released into the atmosphere. For tonight, it will still be chilly. But, we’ll have increasing clouds overnight ahead of our next snowmaker.

Tracking our next snow

This behemoth of a weather maker prompts winter headlines across several states across the United States. This includes Winter Storm Warnings from Raleigh, North Carolina through Dallas, Texas. Some spots in the northern Dallas suburbs could approach half an inch of snowfall overnight and into Friday. We’ll get our share of the snow Friday, too and it will come with commute impacts. Winter Weather Advisory kicks in at 4:00 a.m. Friday and sticks with us through 4:00 a.m. Saturday.

Most of the Friday morning commute should be okay. However, the tail-end of the commute could see some snow showers starting SW and west of Indianapolis. Because of this, a few slick spots can’t be ruled out but those will be few and far between. That activity will gradually spread NE throughout the morning and afternoon. It will become a steady snow from that time and stick around through the Friday p.m. commute. We anticipate that the p.m. commute will come with slowdowns and headaches. So plan ahead!

The snow will taper through the evening before exiting into the overnight hours. When all is said and done, most will end up with 2-4″ of snow. This will be the story through much of Central Indiana. Less snow likely further NW but more possible south and southeast. Those spots could approach 5.0″ in spots.

This will continue what has been a busy winter season for Central Indiana. Since October 1st, Indianapolis has 12.0″ of snow under its belt. Compared to last year’s 2.2″ to date, we have 10″ more snow overall. It’s the most snow to date in 11 years. A typical season (October 1st to May 1st) sees 25.5″ for Indianapolis.

Cold (and more snow) follow

The cold temperatures aren’t going anywhere following Friday’s snow. High temperatures in the 20s will be around through the weekend. We’ll “peak” with highs near 30° Sunday ahead of a frontal boundary. This clipper system could bring some snow showers Sunday night into Monday but those chances are low. If any snow were to occur, amounts would be low.

That will pass through late Sunday into Monday which will give us our next cold blast. Temperatures will tumble during the day Monday setting the stage for more cold. Highs in the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday as we remain dry. Lows in the single digits with subzero wind chills are also likely.