From being down in the dumps after losing Game 1 of the WNBA playoffs to celebrating Caitlin Clark’s shoes after winning the first best-of-three series, there was a dramatic shift in momentum for the Fever. But wait, what’s up with Caitlin Clark’s shoes? Her pair of Black Air Force 1s wasn’t a symbolic gesture about the effort Indiana was going to put in, but rather a nod towards some superstitions and traditions that we aren’t aware of.

See, all the high-level athletes are extremely superstitious. After someone’s playing at the highest level imaginable, luck and fate begin to play a much larger role than before. Everyone’s skilled; sometimes you have to be lucky, and CC’s shoes are a good luck charm of sorts! “Black forces? She means business.” Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston said ahead of Game 2 in Indiana, signalling the turnaround of the series for the Fever.

Could it be a mental block that the Fever is overcoming by following this shoe ritual? Or are the shoes a reflection of CC’s, and by extension Indiana’s, state of mind heading into the game? Remember what Boston said when she saw Clark’s shoewear choices? “She’s a threat. These refs better watch out. She’s gonna be stepping today.” Which was exactly what happened. The injured star protested every call, looked more alive than some of Atlanta’s rotational players, and when they won? She celebrated like she was on the court for all forty minutes.

It was more of the same during Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals today. Indiana, on the back of Caitlin Clark’s lucky shoes, caught Las Vegas off-guard, upsetting them by 16 points. Notably, the Fever superstar could be seen sitting courtside with her AF1s on, but the win wasn’t about that. Las Vegas, as a team, is a poor match for Indiana, and fans are only just beginning to realise that. But if we circle back to the shoes, there’s a very important question we need to ask…

Can Indiana’s recent success be attributed to this new Caitlin Clark tradition? I think it’s more a matter of distraction and confidence. CC isn’t fit to play, sure, but the Fever guard still has a large impact on the team’s outlook towards the games to come. If she draws their attention to silly superstitions and funny traditions, what ends up happening is that the players aren’t as stressed anymore–leading to better performances. But no superstition could’ve prepared us for the masterclass that Kelsey Mitchell and the Fever put on tonight to take game 1 of the semifinals!

Indiana takes an early lead against the Las Vegas Aces despite Caitlin Clark’s absence

Just a few hours ago, the ESPN matchup predictor had given the Las Vegas Aces a 63% chance of victory for today, and let’s be real–no one expected LV to lose at home. A’ja Wilson’s dominance knew no bounds, even away from home, but in front of 10,000 Las Vegas fans? It was meant to be perfect. What they didn’t account for, however, was a lucky pair of shoes and a competitive drive that beats out most other teams in the league.

We’ve already talked about the shoes, but what about the competitive drive? Well, Kelsey Mitchell’s 34 points were something out of a fairytale. The Fever star went 4-6 from deep and collapsed Las Vegas’ entire defense in one fell swoop. On top of that, Odyssey Sims and Natasha Howard played an excellent supplementary role in Indiana’s victory. But we all knew that the Fever could score the ball at will; the real problem lay in defending A’ja Wilson. It’s not easy guarding the MVP.

At least, not unless your name is Aliyah Boston. The six-foot-five center took on the challenge of guarding A’ja quite seriously. She consistently applied pressure to the Aces center and maintained it throughout the entire game. And thankfully, this strategy finally proved to be successful! Boston was able to force Wilson into shots that she could live with, and that made all the difference for Indiana’s prospects.

We knew that the Boston-Wilson matchup would make or break this series in the future, and that’s still true. Indiana and Las Vegas will be running it back in the Michelob ULTRA Arena in a couple of days. This series is a lot longer, and it will demand a lot more consistency from the Indiana Fever. Stephanie White’s team has got a good thing going so far, but can they keep consistent under mounting pressure? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for the latest updates!