The Indiana Fever dominated the first half against the Las Vegas Aces, and at one point in the second quarter built a 20-point lead. However, their lead evaporated in the second half, with two heroic buzzer-beating three-pointers from Chelsea Grey sealing the win for Vegas. With Caitlin Clark failing to take a shot or pass the ball to their highest scorer of the night, Kelsey Mitchell, in the final moments of overtime, former Cleveland Browns player Emmanuel Acho blamed CC.
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Following the Fever’s 86-84 loss against the Aces, Acho and his fellow podcast hosts dissected how Clark’s blunder sealed the Fever’s fate. “When you go back to the pass, even if A’ja Wilson doesn’t deflect it, that ball’s getting stolen. Who is she passing it to?… That ball is getting stolen, regardless if it’s tipped or not,” said former Bengals player Touraj Houshmandzadeh.
“This is how internal beef on team starts,” Emmanuel Acho said in response because he believes Caitlin Clark is always quick to point out when others make a mistake. While Kelsey Mitchell was the best option for Clark to pass the ball to, she didn’t, and A’Ja Wilson blocked the shot, initiating the turnover that cost them the game.
However, the NFL player-turned-analyst explained that Clark has been quick to point out her teammates’ mistakes. He explained that in a recent game, Clark passed the ball to Boston, but when Boston didn’t take the shot, CC immediately gestured to Boston, saying that she should’ve taken it.
“Caitlin, you make a mistake like this; none of your teammates are doing none of that.”
Acho explained that this could lead to internal friction in the long run. He also had some harsh words for what he saw as the lack of effort after making the mistake of not passing the ball.
“Effort, that’s something you can control. And Caitlin Clark, last possession, Chelsea Gray, that shot could have been blocked if you would have sprinted your b— back there and made an effort, but you didn’t.”
Acho wasn’t the only one disappointed in Caitlin Clark. The 24-year-old was disappointed in herself for letting her team down, and that was evident in the post-game press conference.
“Yeah obviously, just can’t happen. Those are free throws I usually make. Certainly frustrating. Obviously one of them gives us a two-possession lead, and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”
However, Fever coach Stephanie White said that she has faith in Caitlin Clark and her team to bounce back from this setback.
“She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are, but we gotta use it as fuel, and she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday…”
After handing the Las Vegas Aces their biggest loss of the season (109-75) in their last meeting, it looked like their third meeting this season would go down the same path. Unfortunately, Clark’s mistakes, coupled with Chelsea Gray becoming the first WNBA player to hit a game-tying buzzer-beating three-pointer and then going on to score the winning buzzer-beater, turned the tables in the Aces’ favor.