Fever’s Caitlin Clark exchanges words with Dream’s Rhyne Howard in heated moment

Former No. 1 picks Caitlin Clark and Rhyne Howard get into it a bit during Thursday night’s Fever-Dream showdown

When Caitlin Clark is involved in a heated on-court exchange, a media feeding frenzy is bound to ensue. Four days after her hard foul seemingly upset Angel Reese, the Indiana Fever star was once again at the center of a viral moment.

Near the end of the first quarter of Thursday’s 81-76 win versus the Atlanta Dream, two-time All-Star Rhyne Howard fouled Clark. The latter responded with a shoulder shove, seemingly frustrated with the way her fellow Rookie of the Year winner and No. 1 overall pick was guarding her to that point of the contest. Words were exchanged and teammates came in between them before anything escalated.

Clark made sure to communicate a message to Howard in the midst of the tension. “I’m not scared of you,” she appeared to say, via ClutchPoints.

The 2024 All-WNBA First-Teamer has had her share of fiery interactions during her young career and has chalked them up to the intensely competitive nature of the sport. She took issue with Howard’s physical approach, which Fever fans will argue was excessive, and the Dream guard came right back at her.

Fever bounce back vs. Dream

The chippy back-and-forth did not seem to linger, and attention returned back to the action. Following a stinging 91-90 defeat at home to Atlanta on Tuesday, Indiana obtained vengeance in Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Caitlin Clark did not have her best night, scoring just 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, but Natasha Howard’s brilliant showing lifted the Fever to victory. The three-time WNBA champion dropped 26 points on magnificent 12-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds.

Rhyne Howard posted a team-high 24 points in the loss. A playoff-like atmosphere filled the air in these last two matchups. Expect the energy level to remain high when the Fever and Dream next meet on June 10.

Clark will be under the spotlight whenever she takes the court, but fans should expect even more coverage when Indy (2-1) battles the defending champion New York Liberty (2-0) on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.