Caitlin Clark Returns, But the Indiana Fever’s Competitive Fire Dims
Indianapolis – Caitlin Clark’s return to action wasn’t enough to ignite the competitive spirit that coach Stephanie White missed in the Indiana Fever’s home loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with a score of 80-61.White added that they were not executing the game plan as such. Attention to detail and discipline were key factors in the defeat, as energy and competitive spirit were not present. This defeat leaves the Fever with a record below .500. Clark played about 25 minutes, accumulating 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers. She now has 31 career games with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, a league record in a player’s first two seasons. Clark, who also missed five games between late May and early June due to a quadriceps injury, said it could take some time to catch his breath, but that “he felt pretty good” playing in shorter periods. White was mostly pleased with Clark’s return, adding that there were moments when Clark “looked really good.” The Fever also had their first opportunity to pair Clark in the backcourt with fellow guard Aari McDonald, who had taken over the role during Clark’s absence. Indiana started both guards and had Lexie Hull coming off the bench.“The scouting report cost us. The personnel cost us. It cost us to do what the coaches asked us to do,” Clark commented, who scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting (2-of-5 from three) in her first game since June 24. “And overall, they just played with more energy and effort, and those are things that just can’t happen.”
Caitlin Clark
The team’s offensive production left much to be desired, which White attributed to the Valkyries’ aggressiveness. The Fever committed 14 turnovers, made only 31% of their shots (their worst percentage since July 2019), and were held to a combined 19 points in the second and fourth quarters. Indiana was held to 26 points in the paint despite leading the league in paint scoring (approximately 40 PPG). Indiana’s loss marked their second consecutive defeat after a solid week in which, without Clark, the Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final and then the Las Vegas Aces behind their best defensive performances of the season.“Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t worry about Caitlin getting back into the offense rhythm,” White continued. “I think my biggest concern is, when we reintegrate her, how do we continue to keep our ball movement and get the ball moving not just side to side, but baseline to baseline. I was a little concerned defensively, a lot of movement, a lot of lateral movement. I think it looked good at times, and I think that’s just building consistency and building her stamina and all that.”
Stephanie White
White added: “I think this is a group that focuses, but you can focus and then you have to be able to go out and be disciplined enough to execute it, right? And I’m not sure [why there’s inconsistency]. As coaches, that’s our job to figure it out.”“I think our team has a lot of inconsistency,” Hull said. “We rise to the occasion when we play for $30,000 [in the Cup final] and we need to bring that level of focus and that level of energy every day… We really need to regroup, turn the page, learn from this and come with a better mentality on Friday.”
Lexie Hull
