A day before Caitlin Clark made her final Toronto appearance of the season with the Indiana Fever, a months-long secret was out in Ottawa.
asserted
secret → make → Ottawa
The parents of soon-to-be nine-year-old Tenley Schefski informed the child they would be making the four-hour-plus drive to watch her favourite player up close for her birthday.
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they → inform → birthday
“I was like, I can’t believe what just happened,” said Tenley, who turns nine on Sunday.
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who → believe → Sunday
“I was so excited, and I can’t believe we’re here right now.
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we → believe → ?
Fans dangled over the railings by the Fever’s tunnel entrance inside Coca-Cola Coliseum on Friday night shouting Clark’s name and clamouring for autographs.
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Fans → dangle → autographs
Canadian WNBA fans young and old made the trek and spent whatever it took to witness a player many credit with transforming women’s basketball.
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many → make → basketball
10th game this season with 25+ PTS and 10+ AST for Caitlin Clark, more than any other player in WNBA history has in their career 😤
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 19, 2026
she finished with 28 PTS, 14 AST & 6 REB tonight against Toronto.
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she → have → Toronto
In the end, the Fever defeated the Tempo 103-85.
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Fever → defeat → Tempo
Kelsey Mitchell dropped a game-high 33 points to break the WNBA’s single-season scoring record (now with 1,034, passing A’ja Wilson’s 2024 high of 1,021) while Clark finished with 28 points on 7-for-11 shooting with six rebounds and 14 assists.
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Clark → drop → rebounds
“I’ve really enjoyed both these games here,” said Clark, who scored 24 points when the teams met at Scotiabank Arena in August.
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teams → enjoy → August
“It’s been a lot of fun for me to know how passionate they are, so I’ll be looking forward to coming back next year.”
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I → know → fun
It was tough for Eric and Alissa Schefski to keep the secret from daughter Tenley, who had pestered them during the season after some friends went to WNBA games.
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friends → keep → games
“One day, could we go to a Tempo game?” she asked.
uncertain
she → go → game
The Schefskis kept things tight-lipped.
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Schefskis → keep → things
In March, they secured tickets for two games around her birthday, after the FIBA World Cup break.
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they → secure → break
As it turned out, the Tempo were playing Clark’s Fever and another family favourite: Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty on Sunday.
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Tempo → turn → Sunday
Tenley plays under-10 basketball in Ottawa and has plans for her own YouTube channel some day, featuring basketball trick shots at the family home.
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Tenley → play → home
Inspired by Clark’s work ethic, she also dreams of one day playing for Canada’s WNBA team.
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she → inspire → team
“There was nothing like this when we were growing up, so it’s very cool to have a daughter that has people she can look up to,” said mom Alissa.
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Alissa → be → people
“She can see herself doing this one day.”
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herself → see → this
The Toronto crowd was divided.
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crowd → divide → ?
Some wore half-Tempo, half-Fever gear, including 16-year-old Annalise Verbruggen, who awaited Clark’s arrival with a slew of trading cards.
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who → wear → cards
Verbruggen’s family has Tempo season tickets, but she sported Clark’s jersey on the night.
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she → have → night
“This is a one-day thing,” joked Verbruggen.
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Verbruggen → joke → ?
“I was a Caitlin Clark fan before the Tempo was even announced at all.
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Tempo → announce → ?
Trust me, I have my fair share of Tempo merch.”
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I → trust → merch
Caitlin Clark said this might be the first time she’s played in an arena with birds chirping:
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birds → say → arena
— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) September 19, 2026
“Hopefully we could play at Scotiabank the rest of the way…
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we → play → way
I’ve enjoyed both these games here, it’s been a lot of fun for me.
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it → enjoy → me
I can tell how passionate (the fans) are.”
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fans → tell → ?
Gus Green and Lorelei Atkinson said they had been waiting a long time to watch Clark in person.
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they → say → person
They refuse to travel south of the border because of tensions between Canada and the United States, but eagerly jumped on a flight here from their hometown of Argyle, N.S.
They paid about $600 each for resale tickets, but said it was worth it.
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it → refuse → tickets
“I might get trouble saying it in this building, but I’m not sure Toronto would have a team if it weren’t for all the eyes that Caitlin brought to this league,” said Green.
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Green → get → league
“She’s just exploded women’s basketball, and it’s just so nice to see a positive role model out there playing sports.”
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it → explode → sports
Clark is in the running for WNBA MVP and entered Friday’s game with season averages of 22.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists.
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Clark → enter → points
Her signature shoe is also expected to launch in October.
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shoe → expect → October
“She’s completely different than any other player we’ve ever watched,” said Green.
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Green → ’ → player
“It’s not just her skill, it’s just everything she brings to the game.
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she → ’ → game
It’s the humility.
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It → ’ → ?
It’s just a joy to watch.”
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It → ’ → ?
The Aporia
