Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso is expected to make her WNBA debut Saturday against the Indiana Fever in one of the league's marquee matchups of the season.
Rookie superstars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark will meet for the first time in the WNBA, just months after Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes knocked LSU out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight. The year prior, Reese's LSU squad defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2023 championship game.
Like Reese, Cardoso also faced Clark twice on college basketball's biggest stage.
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Clark erupted for 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a 2023 Final Four stunner that ended Cardoso and South Carolina's perfect season.
Cardoso and the Gamecocks went full circle this past season. They once again entered their matchup with Iowa undefeated, but they completed the job in the 2024 title game. Cardoso posted 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Clark had 30 points in South Carolina's 87-75 win to cap off an unbeaten season.
Cardoso, selected with the No. 3 pick in the WNBA Draft earlier this year, missed the first six games of the regular season with a shoulder injury she suffered in a preseason game against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Sky have been holding it down in her absence, playing more competitively than many suspected at 3-3.
Chicago Sky
“We’re super excited to have her on the court," Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said. "She’s excited to be back with a big smile on her face, and she puts a big smile on our face just because she’s out there and she’s pain free. That’s the most important thing. So we’re looking forward to having her back out there.”
At 6-foot-7 Cardoso, will go head-to-head against her former teammate and current Fever star Aliyah Boston, who played for two years with Cardoso at South Carolina.
Despite Clark's impressive 17.6 points-per-game, the Fever have struggled to find the win column so far this season. They enter the Saturday's contest against the Sky with a 1-8 record.
The game will tip off at 11:00 a.m. CT from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.