The Indiana Fever were on the brink of WNBA playoff qualification. Unfortunately, they will have to wait for the next because Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez’s strategy neutralized the Fever’s anchorwoman, Caitlin Clark. As the Wings’ defense shut down the Fever star, she even got into a tense exchange with Wings guard Paige Bueckers. Yet, when the dust settled, Dallas won the contest 91-85. Following their win, 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.

While Clark still attempted 15 field goal attempts, second only to Kelsey Mitchell’s 18 from the field and 15 free throws, the Wings’ defense was successful in achieving what the coach wanted them to do. Shutting down Clark stifled the league’s highest-rated offense.

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.”

Mitchell’s 37-point night couldn’t save the Fever as 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.

However, Caitlin Clark didn’t just have a rough night in terms of scoring points, but also had a tough time navigating the court without getting blocked from two sides.

During one such instance, 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 “calm down.”

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 picking up her eighth, which would’ve resulted in a mandatory one-game suspension.

How the Indiana Fever gave the Dallas Wings some breathing space in the playoff race

While the Fever lost their first chance to book a playoff berth after losing to the Dallas Wings, they will get another chance against the New York Liberty. However, this was a big win for the Dallas Wings, who are in eighth place in the WNBA standings and currently hold the final playoff seed.

Ahead of the Indiana Fever game their 20-16 record looked like a good buffer against ninth-placed Toronto Tempo. Unfortunately, in their last five games before facing Indiana, the Wings had hit a slump that let teams like the Tempo and Chicago Sky make up ground.

Before taking on the Fever, the Wings had lost four of their last five games. Although the Tempo had fared only slightly better with a 4-6 record in their last 10, the win against the Fever now extends the Wings’ lead over the Tempo to 6.

With seven games left for each team, it becomes even more difficult for the Tempo (15-20), Chicago Sky (14-22) and Phoenix Mercury (13-23) to contend for the eighth and final playoff spot.

On the flip side, Indiana is favored to beat the New York Liberty and follow the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, and Las Vegas Aces to become the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs. After all, they’ve gotten the better of the New York Liberty in both their previous meetings this season.

However, Caitlin Clark needs to be more careful than ever. While their next game is against the New York Liberty, a team they’ve already beaten this season, Jose Fernandez may have just shown teams how to beat the Fever by choking down Clark’s production and crucial assists on the hardwood.