Fathers are protectors, and today, we honor Fathers. On the basketball court, your protectors are your teammates, and one of them finally came to Caitlin Clark’s defense.

The Chicago Sky once again clashed with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Sunday, and, as we have come to expect from the Sky, they got physical often and early. In the first quarter, Clark drove to the basket, where she got fouled by Chicago’s Dana Evans and contacted by Chennedy Carter.

Nothing unusual, right? No, not at first. But what’s different about this play is that someone from Clark’s team, guard Kristy Wallace, actually came to defend her.

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Even more refreshing, Clark’s other teammates cacked Wallace after she got between Clark and Evans. That is actually how it is supposed to work.

Clark has been victimized by repeated hard fouls throughout her rookie season. However, until Sunday, no one had ever come to Clark’s defense. The actions of Wallace and her teammates buttressed a theme of team play that was evident throughout the game. The Fever got solid contributions from Kelsey Mitchell (17 points, 4 rebounds), Aliyah Boston (19 points, 14 rebounds), and NaLyssa Smith (15 points, 7 rebounds).

Clark led all scorers with 23 points.