Caitlin Clark initially had problems against the Las Vegas Aces, but then recovered
“Of course I would have liked to see a few more shots and a few more free throws made. But I think I was able to respond to that.”
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time in the 2024 season, the Indiana Fever suffered a sweep. On Friday night, the Fever lost 78-74 to the Aces and are now 0-4 against Las Vegas this season.
But this game was the most encouraging yet. The Fever trailed the two-time defending WNBA champions by as many as 13 points. But they narrowed the gap to one point late in the fourth quarter and missed the equalizer with a missed 3-point attempt with 30 seconds left.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
“We stayed composed enough to be able to come back every game and that shows what kind of group we’re up against,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “So I can pat ourselves on the back because we didn’t give up, but we didn’t give up, just not enough. So I think we just have to keep going back to the drawing board and putting in the work.”
It was a frustrating first half for the Fever, as a seemingly constant whistle interrupted the flow of play. Additionally, Fever center Aliyah Boston took an elbow to the face (which was not called a foul) and had to return to the locker room for a short time.
Fever rookie Caitlin Clark picked up her sixth technical foul of the season in the first quarter for hitting the post after disagreeing with her second foul. She knew it would be penalized, she said, but her frustration grew; she didn’t score a point in the first half and picked up a third foul in the second quarter, forcing her to spend the final minutes of the half on the bench.
It was the second time this season that she received a technical penalty for hitting the post.
“They’re never going to take that away. It’s just one of the rules… It is what it is,” Clark said after the game. “I tried to take my last one away from me, but they didn’t take it away from me… I think I could have kept my emotions under control better, but at the same time, like, really? Like, I don’t know. I mean, but it’s a rule, so they have to call it out. I get it. It’s just, it’s tough.”
Thanks to Mitchell’s 19 points in the first half (no other player had more than five), the Fever went into halftime trailing by just eight points.
Caitlin Clark on her sixth technical foul of the WNBA season
The Fever rookie received her sixth technical foul of the season on Friday night against the Las Vegas Aces
They were able to improve defensively in the second half, holding the Aces below their 86 point average. It was the first time a Fever opponent scored less than 85 points and Indiana still lost. But the Fever spent the entire second half coming from behind, trading baskets and just couldn’t get going.
Much of that was also their own fault. Indiana (19-19) was not as disciplined as it should have been and uncharacteristically hit 11 of 20 free throws, leaving nine points on the board.
“I think we need to focus, we need to be able to dig in a little more defensively and discipline on both ends of the court will help,” Mitchell said. “Being in the right position, knowing the personnel. I think all of that goes into being a playoff team and getting to the playoffs. I think we’re applying what we’ve learned on film pretty well and going to games. But I think at the end of the day, it comes down to being a total professional.”
Indiana, whose players mostly had no playoff experience, used those two back-to-back games against Las Vegas as a simulation of a best-of-three first-round series. Of course, it didn’t end in their favor.
The Fever won’t play the Aces in the first round of the playoffs, but simulating that series against the two-time back-to-back champions is a good gauge of where they stand – and where they need to improve the most.
“We’re going to take something from this,” Sides said. “We made it like a playoff series, you know, so we’re going home now because we just lost two games. So we’ve got to regroup and figure out what we can do to get better.”
The Fever still have two games left in the regular season: a home game against Dallas on Sunday and an away game in Washington on Thursday.
