With each bump, push and shove, the veteran-laden Storm chipped away at the seemingly fragile psyche of a young Indiana Fever team and their visibly frustrated rookie star Caitlin Clark.
It started with Jewell Loyd lowering her shoulder and driving into Clark’s midsection, knocking her to the floor and creating space for a midrange jumper.
At the other end, Clark went crashing to the court seconds later following a mid-air collision with center Mercedes Russell, who snared a rebound.
Following a second-quarter blowup between Clark and Victoria Vivians, the Storm outscored the Fever by 16 points in the third quarter and cruised to 103-88 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It’s the fourth straight win for Seattle (5-3), which has beaten opponents by an average of 14.5 points during the streak.
Skylar Diggins-Smith had 18 points and nine assists, while Ezi Magbegor added 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
Seattle took control with an early 10-0 run to go up 12-4 and was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
The Storm led 47-41 at halftime and put the game away in the third when they outscored the Fever 34-18. During the period, Seattle converted 12 of 18 shots and held Indiana to 35% shooting (7 of 20).
Seattle led 81-59 heading into the fourth and pulled most of their starters early in the quarter, which allowed Indiana (1-8) to make the score more respectable.
“We have a lot of great athletes who can use their athletic ability to be disruptive,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “But also, we have really high IQ players who have picked up on our system and really have adjusted.
“The communication on the court is important when you’re working with new players and learning a new system. At the end of the day, a lot of times you say, ‘Just land the plane.’ It may not always be correct, but if they do the most aggressive thing and they’re all in alignment with that, then what you see is a really successful product defensively.”
After scoring 16 points in the first half, the Storm held Fever forward NaLyssa Smith to seven points after the break.
Seattle also used several players to wear down Clark, who finished with 20 points on 6-for-17 shooting and nine assists. She also had seven turnovers.
“She adjusting to a level of physicality that she hasn’t seen as much in college,” Quinn said. “She’s finding ways to fight the aggressiveness with using her IQ and skill set to find her teammates. She’s always going to remain confident, I feel, just watching her in college and watching her first few games.
“Knowing her shots are going to be there, she’s going to hunt them. She’s going to hunt them at the three-point line and she’s going to continue to put pressure at the rim. Throughout it all, she’s finding a way to continue to play her game.”
After draining a three-pointer over Victoria Vivians midway in the second quarter, Clark took umbrage with the tight defensive coverage and an apparent bump after the shot.
The Fever rookie guard got in the face of the Storm forward, and the two exchanged words at midcourt before referees intervened and gave them both technical fouls.
Following their two-game road trip, the Storm have a four-day layoff before Tuesday’s matchup against the Phoenix Mercury at Climate Pledge Arena.
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