Caitlin Clark Could Return Before the End of the Regular Season with the Fever
The Indiana Fever women’s basketball team hopes to have their star, Caitlin Clark, before the end of the regular season, according to statements from coach Stephanie White. When asked if he anticipates Clark’s return for the end of the regular season, White replied: “That’s the hope. The hope is that he returns.” Clark has been absent for the last month due to a right groin injury she suffered in the last minute of the Fever’s game against the Connecticut Sun on July 15. The No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft and a member of the WNBA’s first team, had already been out of action this summer due to injuries to her quadriceps and left groin, which limited her to participating in only 13 games in her second season. In the time he has been on the court, Clark has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game. The team has not set a specific date for her return, and White has reiterated that the organization does not want to rush Clark, even after losing guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to season-ending injuries.Clark usually travels with the team for away games, but was not present in Connecticut for undisclosed reasons. The Fever added guards Odyssey Sims and Kyra Lambert after the absences of McDonald and Colson. After losing the last two games, both at home against teams that are at the bottom of the standings, Indiana came back from a 21-point deficit on Sunday in Connecticut, despite losing Sophie Cunningham to a knee injury in the second quarter. Indiana (19-16) currently holds the sixth position with nine games remaining in the regular season, close to losing a playoff spot, which will begin on September 14th.“The experience throughout the year, trying to come back and come back quickly, has also taught him that he needs to make sure he is 100 percent,” White said. “Yes, every competitor wants to play, but at the same time doing it the right way and making sure, after having had a couple of setbacks, that we are prioritizing his long-term health and well-being is the most important thing.”
Stephanie White
“I think, for us, to reiterate that we have to be where our feet are. We can’t look too far behind us. We can’t look too far ahead of us. We have to make sure we’re focused on one day at a time.” Sims replaced Lexie Hull in the starting lineup on Sunday. White hopes that after adjusting to the absence of McDonald and Colson and integrating Sims and Lambert, his team can find a new rhythm. “Every time there’s an adjustment that has to be made, especially when a player goes down, and now with two going down, it takes a little time,” White said. “If they’re your main ball handlers, I think it takes a little time and practice. So I think there’s another gear we can get to.”“We have great leadership in that locker room,” White said about how the Fever have handled adversity. “This group is together. They’re connected. They stick together.
Stephanie White
