Heated moments involving Clark and Sheldon in the WNBA are part of a rivalry that dates back to college.
Fever vs. Sun: What Happened Between Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
When the Indiana Fever take on the Connecticut Sun in TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, a long-standing rivalry will be renewed.
The Sun beat the Fever in the 2024 WNBA playoffs to end Caitlin Clark's rookie season, and Indiana responded by hiring Connecticut's head coach, Stephanie White. They've played twice in 2025, splitting the two games in Indianapolis 1-1.
But for Clark, there is personal history that goes far deeper than the Fever and the Sun that comes out any time she matches up with former Big Ten foe and fellow first-round 2024 WNBA Draft pick Jacy Sheldon.
Their last matchup on June 17 showed there was no love lost between the Iowa and Ohio State legends.
Caitlin Clark to Jacy Sheldon after knocking down her fourth triple:
— Karl Heiser (@KHeiserCBB) June 18, 2025
“Oh yeah? You can’t guard me. You can’t guard me.”pic.twitter.com/VMTlHtvVDb
Tensions flared between Clark and Sheldon several times throughout the 88-71 Fever victory last month.
In the second quarter, Clark drew a foul on Sheldon and rubbed it in the face of the Connecticut guard.
Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon are going at it 🗣️
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 17, 2025
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/CvJhY4rtlV
Sheldon is averaging 8.1 points per game this year and the only player in the WNBA in the vaunted 50/40/90 shooting club right now.
Clark's sophomore season has been plagued by injuries, but she is still averaging 16.7 points and 9.0 assists per game. She is shooting 37.4 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from three, below her career averages.
Fueled by the trash talk of the Indiana star and her desire to improve on a 5-5 career record against Clark coming into their last matchup, Sheldon continued to play scrappy defense.
She was assessed a flagrant 1 foul for poking Clark in the eye on a play in the third quarter that resulted in Connecticut forward Marina Mabrey pushing Clark to the ground.
Caitlin Clark, Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey were all assessed technical fouls after this play.
— ESPN (@espn) June 18, 2025
Jacy Sheldon was assessed a Flagrant 1. pic.twitter.com/okfTpJjRS7
Clark got her revenge on Sheldon with a basketball play when she made an audacious three-pointer and jawed at her in the fourth quarter.
Fever guard Sophie Cunningham took the retribution even further with a hard foul on Sheldon in the final minute of the game, after which they were both ejected and Cunningham was fined by the WNBA.
The Fever took Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, while the Dallas Wings selected Sheldon at No. 5 overall.
Clark's Hawkeyes handed Sheldon's Buckeyes their first loss of the 2022-2023 season, only for Ohio State to give Iowa their first conference loss in 2023-2024. After the latter game, Clark was knocked over by an Ohio State fan storming the court.
The next time they played, Clark broke the all-time NCAA scoring record on her senior day by putting 35 on Sheldon and the Buckeyes.
Another chapter will be written between the two competitive hoopers on Tuesday, but it surely will not be the last.
Related: Indiana Fever Spark Strong Response With Sophie Cunningham Post on Tuesday
Related: WNBA All-Star Makes Promise After Not Getting Drafted By Caitlin Clark
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
