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“Hey, let’s get a basket for DB right now,” Caitlin Clark said to her teammates during the time-out in favour of Fever newbie, DeWanna Bonner. The 15-season vet had waited months for the milestone moment after leaving behind Tamika Catchings in August last season. With improved communication and team dynamics within the Fever’s roster, Clark not only accepted new players and rookies with open arms but also wanted to give Bonner a chance at making history. But what followed just did not seem to do the months of anticipation any justice.
During the season opener, the former Connecticut Sun player was just one point short of making the All-Time Scorer’s list. And who better than Clark and HC Stephanie White to push Bonner into killing that record! During the fourth quarter against the Chicago Sky, Natasha Howard gave a clean pass to Bonner. But instead of a basket, she was fouled and sent to the free throw line.
The entire court echoed in loud applause as Bonner capitalised on the first throw and made history. At the post-game interview, White confessed to Bonner’s score and said, “She deserves it.” But despite making a historic record and a career-high of 7489 points so far, Bonner and the team could not fully celebrate the win amidst negativity surrounding them.
The Caitlin Clark- Angel Reese rivalry blew out of proportion on May 17, 2025, when Clark’s push earned her a flagrant foul during the third quarter. But the matter did not stop there. As Chi-Barbie became the obvious victim of the physical altercation that existed between the rivals, her fans painted Clark as a dirty player.
Having said that, the fans have gone a step further and taken to heavy trolling, threats, and online abuse against remaining Fever players, including Aliyah Boston, DeWanna Bonner, and Kelsey Mitchell. Though the entire match trickled down to the rivalry, the historic win was pushed to the backdrop. Analyst Rachel DeMita couldn’t help but express frustration at the fact.
“DeWanna Bonner, who had a historic night that we haven’t even been able to celebrate, because of all of this c**p. The kind of stuff that’s being said to them, the stuff that’s being said to Kelsey Mitchell, the kind of things that are being said to Natasha Howard are actually wild.”
The team is no stranger to that scrutiny and living under the microscope. With an influx in the attention, came the scrutiny. Mitchell had drawn a heartbreaking picture of that in the off-season, revealing they had to stay tight, constantly checking on each other. “We really held each other down,” she had said. A whole year to that and nothing much has changed. Where Mitchell asked for more institutional support and the league obliged with “No Space for Hate” campaign, the hate speech still continues.
“People have taken a photo of these women and circled a bullseye on them and have said, ‘It’s on-site when I see you.’ Those are actual threats,” DeMita noted. While the whole scenario turned sour, the league is currently investigating the issue. But the glaring issue for DeMita? The officials are not protecting the Indiana Fever players the same way they are focused on the Chicago Sky.
“So, what the WNBA is investigating is nothing to do with that because they retracted their original statement and made sure that everyone knew that the only thing that they are investigating has to do with the Chicago Sky. They’re not protecting the Indiana Fever. We’re all seeing these things- you can’t gaslight a bunch of people who were seeing the negative things that are happening,” the analyst stated. In the wake of such nasty and hateful comments, Fever player DeWanna Bonner was forced to delay her celebrations.
The W veteran became the top three in the list of All-Time leading scorers. And while Cathy Engelbert’s team is busy investigating, the entire basketball fraternity is in hopes that severe action is taken against the wrongdoers and that peace is restored. After all, it is just a sport and should be played with the same spirit.
DeWanna Bonner still feels the love
It was a sold out crowd. 17,274 filling the seats and a record waiting for about 220 days. She had ended the last season 7 points short of the record and it seemed like the whole off-season was spent in the anticipation of filling that up. So when her debut game with the Fever arrived, every single one of them seemed ready to get it for her. And you know they did.
“I kind of got a little bit emotional,” Bonner admitted post game. “To be at this moment, in front of a sold out crowd, in front of all this attention, and to have that moment is just pretty special to me.” The veteran has been in the league since 2009, improving on her record with every game. Head coach Stephanie White was all praise for the star forward.
“We tell her all the time, ‘You deserve the limelight, right? You deserve the recognition,'” she said. ““But what she’s been able to do and accomplish in this league, the way she’s been able to go about doing it, to make herself available every year, nearly every game, that’s hard to do… She’s a Hall of Famer.”
For Clark, being on that court during the long-awaited shot was a historic moment in itself. “One of the best players,” she calls Bonner and believes it with all her might. Sure the team did not get to savor the moment for long without a worry, but it is a moment that’s going to live with them for a long time. Who knows, Bonner might even down some more baskets to catch up with Tina Charles and call for a bigger celebration.
The post Caitlin Clark’s Teammate Forced to Delay Celebrations as Analyst Exposes Cathy Engelbert’s ‘Unfair’ Treatment of Fever Players appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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