The Indiana Fever were on the brink of WNBA playoff qualification. Unfortunately for Indiana, they will have to wait for the next because Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez’s strategy neutralized the Fever’s anchorwoman, Caitlin Clark. The Wings put up a hard defense against Clark, eventually winning the game 91-85. However, even with the defense focusing on shutting Clark down, things got intense when the Fever guard tried to break out, and one moment in particular saw things escalate between Paige Bueckers and Clark.

Following their win against the Fever, coach Fernandez revealed why they focused on Clark in the first place, while praising the Fever star’s skill on the hardwood.

“Well, we wanted to get it out of her hands. I mean, pick-and-roll situation in the middle of the floor, she’s so good. So, if it was going to be on the side of the floor, we wanted to get it out of her hands, make other people make shots,” Fernandez said in the post-game press conference.

The two faces of their respective teams were involved in a tense exchange, as their one-on-one matchup ended with Bueckers receiving a personal foul after attempting to stop Clark. With seconds remaining in the second quarter, Bueckers was on defense. As Clark moved to make space, Bueckers grabbed Clark’s arm, holding her back.

Clark, upset about the grab, shoved Bueckers’ arm away. As the sideline official blew the whistle, the Wings guard told Clark to “clam down.”

While Clark still attempted the most amount of shots on her team except Kelsey Mitchell, who is keeping her MVP contention alive with a mammoth 37-point game, the Wings’ defense was successful in achieving what the coach wanted them to do. So, besides talking about Clark, he credited his team’s overall defensive performance.

“But this kind of performance, you know, the way that Paige took care of the ball, Maddy’s [Siegrist] plus 16, Alysha Clark coming in and defending, Jess Shepard’s, all-time season high, Arike and what she did offensively. So there’s a lot of things and a lot of people responsible, and that’s what good teams do.”

Clark struggled to open up against Wings’ defense at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. She recorded only 10 points while shooting 4-of-15 from the field and 2-of-8 from three-point range.

Meanwhile, Bueckers picked up her first technical foul of the season, after one got rescinded during a May 22 game against Angel Reese’s Atlanta Dream. Caitlin Clark, on the other hand, has picked up seven technicals and, despite the intensity of the game, managed to stay away from her pickung up her eighth, which would’ve resulted in a mandatory one-game suspension.

With the Indiana Fever being on the cusp of playoff qualification, the Fever star needs to be more careful than ever. After all, their next game is with league leaders Minnesota Lynx. While the Lynx have their own troubles with one of their key playmakers, Olivia Miles, getting injured in their last game, overcoming the No. 1 team won’t be easy for Caitlin Clark and Co.