After finishing at the bottom of the table for three consecutive seasons, the Indiana Fever find themselves on a similar journey yet again. It seems that the arrival of Caitlin Clark has little or rather no effect on their fortunes as they had to face defeats in both their regular season games. Following this, the No.1 overall draft pick reflected on the one major component that was missing in the team when they took the court against last year’s WNBA runner-up, the New York Liberty.

Reporters gathered around the 22-year-old after the practice sessions on Friday where one of them went on to ask about her views on last night’s loss. Clark replied, “The biggest thing is we didn’t play our best. We had the momentum going into the third quarter. Then obviously, it really got away from us going into the fourth quarter.” She continued and pointed out that they can take out a lot of positives.

However, there is one thing that the team needs to address before they face Liberty again. She further added, “The more disappointing thing that I felt we did to ourselves was the energy and effort that could have been a lot better. We should watch it, learn from it and grow.” 

The Fever were able to outscore the visitors in the third quarter. Consequently, the difference between the two teams was just 11 points. Sadly, they had no answers for Breanna Stewart’s onslaught in the penultimate quarter as Liberty took the game away by scoring 35 points while Caitlin Clark and Co. could only manage grab 10 points.

Meanwhile, the loss also brought a rare occasion from a personal standpoint for the two-time national player of the year.

An unusual night for Caitlin Clark

The NCAA Division I all-time women’s leading scorer finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists on her home debut. Seemingly, this is the first time since January 2021 that Caitlin Clark contributed in single digits. The last time something like this transpired was when she scored 8 points against Northwestern as a freshman.

Speaking of her performance, the 22-year-old admitted, “I was frustrated, and I knew I could have performed a lot better… It’s a great learning opportunity for me against one of the best teams in the league. For myself, maybe individual-wise…” 

As she grows with it, the Fever will travel to New York to square off again on Saturday. Caitlin Clark and Co. will be hoping to apply all the positive they have taken on the hardwood at the Barclays Center next.