The scoreboard read 45–39. The Indiana Fever were leading, the crowd buzzed, and the first half was winding down. Then came the play that turned heads and raised eyebrows. Alysha Clark was going for a clean rebound. Damiris Dantas crashed in, shoulder-first, bulldozing her way through. No call. No whistle. Just silence.
In a game already humming with playoff energy, this moment felt louder than the buzzer. And the ones who felt it most weren’t the players, they were the broadcasters.

“Six-point lead for the Indiana Fever,” the announcer said, his tone clipped and puzzled, moments after the no-call.

At 26.7 seconds left in the second quarter, Lexie Hull hoisted a shot from the top. It clanged off the rim. As Alysha Clark went up to snag the rebound, Damiris Dantas snatched the ball right off her hands with an aggressive play. In any other game, in any other moment, that’s a whistle. But this time? Nothing. The officials let it slide.

But the broadcasters put it bluntly, “And that would be four on Dantas if they had called “.

The stunned silence from the commentators spoke volumes. There was no fiery protest from Seattle’s bench, no player meltdown; in fact, this happened before the referee Jeff Smith and at Seattle’s own stadium.

The Fever would eventually win 94–86, while proving ESPN’s matchup prediction of storm having a better chance at winning wrong and if you’re scanning the box score, it all looks fair:

• Indiana shot 50.7% from the field to Seattle’s 46.8%.
• Rebounding? 38 to 21 in Indiana’s favor, with 15 offensive boards.
• Points in the paint? 52–38 to the Fever.

But one number stood out more than most: 21 fouls on Indiana, versus 20 on Seattle, despite Indiana’s far more physical approach on the glass.

However, despite the midgame no-call, Seattle’s coach Noelle Quinn chose not to dwell on it.

“In a second quarter we had a few turnovers in a row,” Quinn said during the halftime interview. “So we have to be way more efficient offensively when we get stops.”

“We just have to stay aggressive and efficient.”

Noelle Quinn Locks Up Clark Despite Loss to Fever

And the fact of the matter is—while Seattle might not have beaten Caitlin Clark, they definitely found a way to lock her up.

Clark had her second 6-point outing of the season, shooting just 3-of-13 from the field and missing all six of her three-point attempts. That slump pushed her to a staggering 1-for-23 from beyond the arc over her last three games. Yes, she still dished out nine assists—her vision and playmaking didn’t disappear—but her shot certainly did. And that was no accident.

Part of the credit goes to Seattle’s defensive blueprint, executed to near-perfection. Mid-game, head coach Noelle Quinn broke it down:

“Uh, extremely happy. I think it’s a difficult match-up, you know. She presents, um, a match-up nightmare because she can pass, shoot, and do a lot of good things on the basketball court. So, um, I like our attention to detail with her. Um, I like that we’re staying in place. Um, and I like that we’re getting a hand up and making it, uh, difficult.”

Clark wasn’t invisible—but she was undeniably contained. In fact, for the first time in her career, Caitlin Clark recorded more turnovers than points in a game. She finished with just 6 points and coughed up the ball 8 times.

And this is the same Caitlin Clark who, just a year ago, wrapped up her rookie regular season with the second-highest total box score production in WNBA history, trailing only Yolanda Griffith. Clark posted a staggering 35.3 PBPM (Production Based on Box Plus/Minus)—a number that stamped her rookie campaign as one of the most impactful ever.