WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is set to play north of the border for the first time on Tuesday and will do so on the biggest stage Toronto has to offer.
Clark and the Indiana Fever will face the Toronto Tempo at Scotiabank Arena in front of over 21,000 expected fans.
The Fever arrive in Toronto coming off a crucial 95-91 overtime win over Clark’s rival Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream. It marked a fourth straight win for the Fever, who are closing in on locking up a playoff spot with just over a month left in the season.
“We’re all aware of the standings and the seedings,” Clark said. “So, this was a really important one for us to come in and get, and that’s kind of like the story of this whole road trip. This is the last matchup with a lot of these teams that we have, and a lot of these teams are really good and possible teams we’ll maybe see in the playoffs.
“Coming into each night, we know how important that win is to hopefully get home court advantage in the playoffs.”
The win over the Dream came at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks with a capacity of just under 17,000.
Clark and the Fever will be looking to send another large crowd home disappointed as they face the struggling Tempo.
Toronto is in the midst of a 10-game losing skid that has derailed a once-promising inaugural season. The Tempo sit third-last in the WNBA standings with a 10-23 record, ahead of the Connecticut Sun (8-25) and the Seattle Storm (7-30), who have both already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Indiana is focused on avoiding a trap game in their Canadian debut.
“We know, especially from a year ago, how important home court is,” Fever coach Stephanie White said Sunday. “And we know that every game is important. We can’t look too far ahead. We certainly don’t want to trip on anything that’s behind us.
“We’ve got to be in this moment and we have to understand the urgency of the moment.
“We certainly don’t shy away from talking about it.”
The Fever defeated the Tempo in their first matchup this season with a 113-91 victory in June. The two sides will meet for a third time this season on Sept. 18 in Toronto.
