INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark stole a pass from Paige Bueckers less than two minutes into the superstars’ first-ever professional meeting. Eventually, Clark and her far-superior Indiana Fever team stole the spotlight from Bueckers, too.

Facing off for the first time since the 2024 Final Four, when Clark’s Iowa team narrowly defeated Bueckers’ UConn squad, the former Naismith College Player of the Years finally met in the WNBA Sunday, with Clark’s Fever hosting Bueckers’ Dallas Wings.

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Clark occasionally poked her head out of a shooting slump that’s buried her normally-potent scoring of late. But she also affected the game in just about every other way as well, decorating her stat sheet with 14 points, 13 assists, five steals and three rebounds.

The Fever have been hunting for consistency this season. They got another glimpse of it in a 102-83 win over the Wings, scoring at least 99 points for the second game in a row.

Bueckers continued her Rookie of the Year campaign with 21 points, but her supporting cast was clearly overmatched. Notably, four-time All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale shot 0-of-10 with a meager two points in 28 minutes following her three-game absence from a thumb injury.

Clark opened the highly-anticipated showdown with a turnover. It didn’t take her long to wipe that giveaway from the memories of the 17,000 fans in attendance.

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The second-time All-Star immediately responded with a catch-and-shoot 3. Soon after, she stole a pass from Bueckers, hit the break and dropped in a layup.

Clark scored seven of the Fever’s first 11 points. And that’s after she finished with only 12 and 10 points in her first two games back from a groin injury that sidelined her for the previous five contests.

Bueckers made an immediate impact, too. Like Clark, she tallied seven points and two assists in the first quarter. The first-time All-Star added a pair of rebounds, including an offensive board that extended a Wings possession ultimately ending in second-chance points.

She even gave Clark a taste of her own medicine with a 29-foot 3-pointer.

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The league torchbearers paced their teams in a high-octane first frame, with the Fever taking a 28-27 lead into the second quarter.

That’s when Indiana created separation.

The Fever kicked things off with a 21-6 run, much of which was sparked by Sophie Cunningham. Two days removed from a 16-and-10 double-double against the Atlanta Dream, the veteran guard provided some more fire off the bench.

Cunningham scored or assisted on 10 of the Fever’s first 17 points during the second-quarter surge. One sequence stuck out in particular: Clark blocked Dallas guard JJ Quinerly, let out a swagger-infused yell, collected a pass from a rebounding Aliyah Boston and flung the ball forward for Cunningham, who leapt, landed and scored her second straight layup.

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Later, Cunningham soared to the paint to pluck a defensive rebound before calling her number to run point. She brought the ball up and teed up a perfectly-placed pass to a wide-open Natasha Howard for an easy layup. Cunningham clocked out with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on the day.

Clark capped the Fever’s 36-point second quarter with a stepback move that ditched Aziaha James and a subsequent 3-pointer that ignited her sold-out arena.

Bueckers added her second 3 in the frame, except it hardly put a dent in Indiana’s runaway train.

The Fever entered intermission with 64 points — their most in a half in franchise history — and five players already had at least nine points. With a 22-point lead, Indiana was shooting a blistering 64.3% from the field.

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Clark scored the Fever’s first bucket of the second half, then assisted the following two. She made a habit of penetrating and dishing, surgically locating the likes of Boston and Howard — who combined for 35 points Sunday — while piloting Indiana’s sizzling hot offense.

Fellow playmaking guard Kelsey Mitchell got in on the fun, too, delivering a no-look, bounce pass to Boston early in the quarter. Mitchell pitched in 20-plus points for the third time in the last five games.

Bueckers made an awkward-looking, mid-range jumper, converted an and-1 and sank an additional middie that initially touched every inch of the rim. But she also had another pass stolen by Clark, one of her four turnovers.

At times, the former USA Basketball youth squad teammates guarded each other. Those made for some hair-raising moments, like Bueckers’ deep 3 in the game’s infancy.

Unlike the last time Clark and Bueckers met in college, their teams weren’t evenly matched Sunday.

Clark won “Round 1,” but this head-to-head is going longer than 12 rounds.