Indiana Fever loss gives Caitlin Clark chance to grow as a leader

Caitlin Clark: Taking the Game to the Next Level

A commemoration of Caitlin Clark’s meteoric career at Iowa and an evaluation of the start of her WNBA debut season.

A commemoration of Caitlin Clark’s meteoric career at Iowa and an evaluation of the start of her WNBA debut season.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The competition was on, but Caitlin Clark decided not to participate.

The Indiana Fever superstar wasn’t watching from the sidelines on Friday against the Minnesota Lynx; she wasn’t mired in foul trouble or nursing an injury. She was in the thick of the action, lying on the court, and had simply given up. It was as if Clark was in a video game and the player’s controller had died. But this wasn’t virtual. This was the real thing.

This was a matchup—and a potential first-round playoff preview—between two MVP candidates and their teams. Yet Clark’s composure was gone. After Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier blocked Clark’s shot, sending her to the floor, Clark didn’t get up. She didn’t even try. Instead, she stared at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse rafters for a few seconds as the Lynx played five-on-four on the other end, leading to a midrange jumper from Courtney Williams that extended Minnesota’s lead to 10 points.

Clark thought she had committed a foul. No foul was called. And the Fever’s disastrous third quarter continued as the Lynx held on for a 99-88 victory. Clark’s anger-filled sequence, in which she complained vehemently to the officials and had to be substituted, didn’t decide the outcome of the game. But it certainly didn’t help.

“I think I could have controlled my emotions a little bit better,” said Clark, who finished with 25 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Caitlin Clark congratulates the referee on his decision.

She’s had enough 😭photo.twitter.com/91BViQWD4E

—BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) September 7, 2024

Fever coach Christie Sides appreciated Clark’s fiery nature, but was more direct.

“It reminds me of Diana Taurasi,” Sides said. “So when she’s angry or upset, that’s what we’ve been working on, figuring out how to overcome those moments. I was worried she was going to get a (technical foul) in that third quarter, and luckily she didn’t. But that’s growth, and she’s got to learn that in those moments, I’ve got to keep my point guard cool.”

Clark wasn’t alone.

Fever forward Aliyah Boston was given a technical foul early in the third quarter after arguing with an official over what she saw as a missed foul. That didn’t change the referee’s mind, of course, and Sides acknowledged that the Fever were too preoccupied with the refereeing. The Lynx quickly pounced on the Fever’s disarray, turning a five-point deficit early in the frame into a 12-point lead early in the fourth.

What could the Fever learn from their lack of composure? Kelsey Mitchell didn’t beat around the bush.

“I think from a leadership standpoint, we come together as a group to say, ‘Shut up and work. Leave the refs out of it,'” said Mitchell, the Fever’s longest-tenured player. “Go to the next play. Go to the next action. Go to the next set.”

And in theory to the next level.

Three nights ago, the Fever clinched their first playoff spot since 2016, and from Sides’ perspective, Friday felt like a playoff atmosphere. The crowd was loud and the play was physical. Nothing came easy, and in the fourth quarter, the Fever responded like a team that finally understood that.

Mitchell scored 8 of her 23 points in the final frame. Boston contributed 6 of her 20 points and recorded a block. However, it was Clark who emerged as the main catalyst in the final 10 minutes.

After regaining her composure, she changed the game. Clark scored or assisted 14 points in the fourth quarter, pulling the Fever within a point, but that was the most Indiana would reach. With the Fever down 78-77, Clark blocked Alanna Smith’s jumper and secured the loose ball on the ensuing fast break, but she threw an ill-advised pass to Temi Fagbenle that was easily intercepted by Natisha Hiedeman.

“Honestly, I thought we played really well in the fourth period,” Clark said. “My turnover in transition was what I felt really ended the momentum for us.”

Caitlin Clark makes it a 3-point game in INDY 🍿

The arena is bursting at the seams!

Lynx fever on ION 📺 photo.twitter.com/rConwYDwAA

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 7, 2024

Williams responded on the other end with a 3-pointer to cut the Lynx lead to 4 points and hand the Fever their second loss in nine post-Olympic games. Both of Indiana’s losses came at the hands of Minnesota and Collier, who was brilliant once again. The four-time All-Star finished with a game-high 26 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Clark called the Lynx “the toughest team in the league to defend” because of how well they moved the ball, and noted that it wasn’t just Collier who made big plays. Bridget Carleton made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to halt a potential Fever comeback.

Mitchell said the Fever can learn from Minnesota’s play and the grit it showed at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which also served as a pressure cooker when Indiana made its late surge. The Lynx didn’t blink, and it’s a big reason they’re now No. 2 in the WNBA playoff standings.

“(Minnesota) is the standard,” Mitchell said. “And if you want to compete at that next level and be a part of that playoff run — not just get there, not just be a part of it, but make a run and make an impact — we’ve got to use that as leverage and know that they’re the best. And to beat the best, you’ve got to compete every night.”

And at every play.

Clark was reminded of that lesson on Friday when she briefly failed to perform at her best.

“Yeah, I think there’s a line and sometimes your passion, your emotion can get to you,” Clark said. “But that’s something I would never change.”

And like Sides said, the Fever doesn’t ask her to change. They only ask her to grow.

(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)