Indiana guard Caitlin Clark, before the Fever’s opening-round playoff game against the Las Vegas Aces, pointed to slow starts as the reason for her team’s two regular-season losses.
But a slow start wasn’t the issue for Indiana on Sunday as the Fever went back and forth with the Aces in Game 1. Instead, it was the run before halftime that doomed Indiana in the Aces’ 102-85 win at Michelob Ultra Arena.
The Fever, after holding a slim 34-33 lead in the second quarter, were outscored 29-13 over the last seven minutes before halftime.
Clark had 15 points and 10 assists, but Indiana couldn’t dig its way out of that deficit. Clark shot 6-of-17 from the field and was 3-of-10 from 3-point range in 34 minutes.
“We want to play in transition and when they score 102 points it’s hard for us to get that part of our game going,” Clark said after the loss. “They’re good defenders, but at the same time, we made it hard on ourselves too. I thought our actions were sloppy. What we were running wasn’t great and nobody got an easier, open look.”
Game 2 is at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Fever coach Stephanie White said postgame that her team’s turnovers were the difference in the key stretch before halftime. Las Vegas had 28 points off 17 Indiana turnovers. Clark had six turnovers, four of which came in the first half.
“A lot of it was our turnovers,” White said. “A lot of them came in the second quarter and then when (the Aces) get some easy ones, then the basket looks really big and they start hitting some 3-pointers.”
Clark said she would grade the Fever’s effort to make Las Vegas take difficult shots an “F.” Clark is seeking her first on-court WNBA playoff victory after being swept in 2024 and missing last year’s postseason run due to an injury.
“Often times, you have to be humbled first,” White said. “You don’t often learn from the success. We felt the difference in intensity level and urgency and that doesn’t mean we weren’t playing hard, sometimes it’s how you execute.”
Clark’s passing shined in the first half where she had four assists in the first quarter and in the second quarter found an open Aliyah Boston for 3 as the Fever led 34-33 with 7:45 to play, but it was all Aces the rest of the way before halftime.
Later in the second quarter, Jackie Young stole a Clark pass that led to a Young 3-pointer on a pass from Chelsea Gray as the Aces went up 49-38 with 4:30 before halftime. The Aces led 62-47 at the break.
Clark was 1 of 6 on three-pointers in the second half as she finished with five fouls after picking up her fourth foul late in the third quarter.
“I understand that we’re in the playoffs, I understand that there’s urgency with every single game at this point,” Clark said pregame about managing her excitement in her return to playoff competition. “You can’t make this moment seem way bigger than it is and psych yourself out.”
Clark had scored at least 25 points in three of Indiana’s last four games after her return from helping the United States win gold at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Clark is 0-3 all-time in playoff competition. Indiana lost twice to No. 3 Connecticut on the road in the opening round best-of-3 series in 2024.
Last year, Clark played in 13 regular-season games and was ruled out before the start of the playoffs with a right groin injury. She missed Indiana’s first-round series win and semifinal series with Las Vegas, where the Fever forced a winner-take-all Game 5 to overtime before the Aces won 107-98.
Now, Clark and the Fever’s season could end Tuesday. The Fever point guard said before Sunday’s game that the togetherness she saw with Indiana’s run last year will be key in making another run this year.
“You have to be able to step up to the moment and be ready,” Clark said. “Things are going to be good and things are going to be bad, so for myself, it’s just keeping everybody together.
“We’ve had moments where we’ve seemed like this team can win a championship this year and we’ve had moments where we don’t look so good. For myself as a point guard, you have to keep everybody together.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
