When the WNBA’s national TV schedule was released in April, many were surprised that there were no games between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever on ESPN.
While the schedule came out before the WNBA Draft, the draft lottery was decided back in December, so it was evident that the Fever would have Caitlin Clark as they came away with the first overall pick. The Sky came away with the third and seventh picks, so it was evident that they would also be getting impact players.
With the third pick, Chicago selected South Carolina Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso. Then, with the seventh pick, the Sky selected LSU forward Angel Reese, who had multiple battles with Clark in the NCAA Tournament over both players’ collegiate careers.
On Thursday, Paulsen Sports Media Watch reported that the first WNBA meeting between the two, scheduled for June 1 in Indianapolis, had been flexed from NBATV to ESPN.
Clark’s WNBA debut on May 14 on ESPN2 averaged over two million viewers, giving the WNBA its best-ever rating on ESPN and highest rating since May of 2001. When Clark’s Hawkeyes and Reese’s Tigers met in the Elite Eight of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament, it drew a then-record-breaking 12.3 million viewers on ESPN.
With LSU coming away victorious over Iowa in the 2023 National Championship Game and Iowa coming away with the Elite Eight victory, the duo’s first professional meeting should feature plenty of exciting plays and fireworks.
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