Caitlin Clark gets painfully honest on costly play in Fever loss to Minnesota Lynx with fewer thoughts
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark realized it instantly. She went over and told head coach Christie Sides that her pass to Temi Fagbenle in transition was poor, and so was the decision to even attempt it. The Fever trailed by one possession with 5:13 to go in the fourth quarter when it occurred. They later succumbed, 99-88, to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.
Though Clark wasn’t asked postgame specifically about that turnover, she took ownership.
“Honestly, I thought we played really good in the fourth,” Clark said afterward. “My turnover in transition is what I felt like kind of really ended the momentum for us… honestly, made just a really bad read. I thought the girl was going to come over. She never ended up coming over.”
Clark read the Lynx’s minds perfectly on the play leading up to her own turnover. Alanna Smith dished a bounce-pass to Courtney Williams on the perimeter, and when the Minnesota guard accordingly got double-teamed, Smith faded to the elbow for her wide-open look. Except, Clark rotated over, leaped up, and with both arms, swatted the taller forward’s shot and then caught it.
In that instant, the Rookie of the Year frontrunner flexed her talent. She had been building. About 45 seconds before the block, Clark lost her defender on the arc, and of course, made the clutch basket to pull the Fever within three points. Teammate Aliyah Boston read Clark’s back cut the whole way. Clark flapped her arms repeatedly to pump up the sellout crowd. And they obliged.
So in order: it was her fifth 3-pointer of the night, then the block, and then the foot race.
She and Temi Fagbenle—her transition maestro—charged into three Minnesota defenders. They were outnumbered, and Clark led Fagbenle right into her seventh turnover of the night, compared to eight assists. On Minnesota’s ensuing possession, Williams ended up hitting the 3-pointer she didn’t take before—and as Clark later admitted to—it hammered the wind out.
In another instant, all were reminded that Clark is still 22 years old and learning. Emotions were tense in Gainbridge Fieldhouse Friday. Clark pumped up the crowd more than once in the third quarter, whether it was to make more noise when she was called for an illegal screen, or to clap and praise the refs for awarding her two free throws driving to the basket. Clark was amped-up.
“She’s just so passionate,” Sides said. “When she is upset or mad — we’ve been working on trying to figure out how to get past those moments. I was worried she was going to pick up a [technical foul]… thank goodness that she didn’t… she’s gotta learn that in those moments, I need my point guard to have a cool head… if it’s not a foul call you thought, you gotta get back.”
