Caitlin Clark’s intensity hit a bit of a pinch in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Fever star put on an offensive clinic in the final period of the game.
Despite Clark’s 17 points, Indiana State narrowly lost 88-84 to the Connecticut Sun, losing for the fourth straight game.
After the Sun’s Alyssa Thomas made a steal, Clark was called for a technical foul after yelling at the referee to go the other way.
After being forced to foul to prevent an easy layup, Clark appeared to yell at the officials, “That’s a foul.”
“You can’t do that with just a technical foul,” Clark told reporters after the game. “I felt a little frustrated that we were denied the game. But it is what it is. It’s out of your control. Our team is going to make some plays to try to win until the end.” I thought we were in a position to do that, and Sun always came up with big plays.”
However, despite suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter, Clark was a colossus for the Fever’s offense in the second half, giving Fever fans a huge scare in the process.
She twisted her ankle midway through the second quarter trying to go around a screen.
Clark remained on the floor for several minutes in pain, but got up on his own and walked off the court for the rest of the first half with just eight points.
“Honestly, it went pretty well,” Clark explained about the ankle. “I think I just got caught. I don’t think I stepped on anyone. I can’t really tell from watching the replays, but I don’t have the best ankles in the world. It was a little tight this morning. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. It felt good. I just wanted to record more tape and get back out there and play.
“It’s tough, especially when you think you started the game well and then you get injured and have to miss the last five minutes of the first half. It was difficult to get going, so it took until the end of the third quarter to get back into the swing of things.”
She joked that while all basketball players have dealt with ankle injuries, “I can handle it.”
But Clark did everything he could to lead the Fever to their first win of the WNBA season.
She scored seven of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, an impressive performance in the first three games of her professional career, including a 3-pointer, two foul shots and a jumper in the final 10 minutes of the game. decided.
Those three points came from deep inside the arc after a big block by Aliyah Boston, and Clark hit a shot from the logo to put the Fever up 70-68 with just over seven minutes left in the game.
It was a close game for the rest of the game, but Tyasha Harris hit a 3 with 3:51 left to bring the Sun within one point, and DeWanna Bonner tied it 76 seconds later with a free throw.
A 3-point play by Harris gave Connecticut a three-point lead, but Clark tied the game at 82 with a finger roll layup with 1:02 left.
Harris made two free throws with 11 seconds left to break the 84-84 tie, and Alyssa Thomas made two free throws with five seconds left to seal the victory.
Clark finished the night 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. She also had five turnovers during the loss.
