After the Indiana Fever’s lead whittled down to two in the final minute, Caitlin Clark had the ball in her hands, ready to ensure the Indiana Fever escaped a sixth consecutive defeat to start the season.
The rookie sized up Los Angeles Sparks wing Kia Nurse, crossed the ball over to her left, and stepped back for her trademark 3-pointer from the left wing. Splash. Clark stuck her tongue out as she celebrated for fellow Iowa native Ashton Kutcher and his family sitting courtside, then she struck the Jordan shrug on her way back down the court.
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“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I seriously think that every shot that I take is going to go in,” Clark said.
It was only her second triple of the game, and her 11th point during a night of offensive struggles, but it was the dagger the Fever needed to win their first game 78-73 for Clark’s first professional victory.
Clark finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, as Indiana breathed a sigh of relief before facing the two-time defending champions in Las Vegas on the second night of a back-to-back. Kelsey Mitchell paced the Fever with 18 points as Aliyah Boston added 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Indiana improved to 1-5 with the win while Los Angeles fell to 1-3.
Indiana tailoring rotation to match Clark’s skillset
At practice in Los Angeles on Thursday, Clark noted one of the adjustments the Fever had to make was playing at a different pace than last year. To achieve that, Indiana coach Christie Sides has had to change her rotation six games in to achieve more ball and player movement.
She moved Katie Lou Samuelson to the bench in favor of Kristy Wallace in the Fever’s previous game against the Seattle Storm, and Temi fa*gbenle started the second half in place of NaLyssa Smith.
What Wallace and fa*gbenle bring to the court is clear: an understanding of how to play with Clark. fa*gbenle has been a ball of energy since opening night as she returns to the WNBA after a five-year hiatus. She brings effort on the glass, runs the floor in transition, and makes herself available for the ball at all times.
Wallace also has picked up on the idea that when Clark is in the game, running toward the basket will yield positive results. Wallace is an active cutter who also sprints in early offense, making her the beneficiary of Clark’s outlet passes.
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fa*gbenle and Wallace were the recipients of six of Clark’s 8 assists, and fa*gbenle was a plus-15 in her minutes, leading Indiana in the category.
Fever remain comeback kids
Sides, Boston and Clark credited Indiana’s morale as it weathered a tough start but showed an ability to fight back in games, even if those comebacks hadn’t resulted in wins.
“We’re always fighting from being down, and that’s a really tough position to put your teammates in, especially the ones that are coming off the bench and trying to give really solid minutes,” Clark said.
The Fever still found themselves down 11 points in the first half, prompting Sides’ lineup switch at the break. The five-player unit of Clark, Wallace, fa*gbenle, Mitchell and Boston started the third quarter on an 11-0 run, erasing the deficit immediately.
The Sparks battled and pushed ahead by another four points, but Indiana still built a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.
L.A. pulled to within three points with less than three minutes to play, and that was when Clark finally dialed in from long range. She had missed her first seven 3-pointers but found paydirt with 2:27 remaining, the precursor to her final blow that sealed the game.
Defense finally came to play
Indiana had surrendered at least 85 points in each of the first five games of the season, a disturbing trend for a team that finished 11th in defensive rating in 2023. The Fever were last in the league entering Friday’s game but limited the Sparks to 28 second-half points.
They kept L.A. off the offensive glass and forced 14 turnovers in the final 20 minutes, allowing Indiana to own the possession battle.
Whether it was Samuelson standing up Dearica Hamby in the paint, or the Fever perimeter defenders forcing Lexie Brown into drives rather than jumpers, they knew the scouting report and forced the Sparks into disadvantageous positions.
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Indiana limited the Sparks to only six free-throw attempts in the second half after a parade to the line in the first. Indiana’s offense wasn’t sterling by any means, but it was good enough for the Fever to score 19 points off turnovers and 14 in transition.
“These guys are fighting, they’re fighting for each other, they’re fighting for us,” Sides said. “The way they fought in that second half, especially defensively, just proud of their effort.”
Required reading
- What we learned from Caitlin Clark’s first week in the WNBA
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
Sabreena Merchant is a women's basketball Staff Writer for The Athletic. She previously covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation. Sabreena is an alum of Duke University, where she wrote for the independent student newspaper, The Chronicle. She is based in Los Angeles. Follow Sabreena on Twitter @sabreenajm
