A commemoration of Caitlin Clark’s meteoric career at Iowa and evaluation of the start of her WNBA rookie season.
A commemoration of Caitlin Clark’s meteoric career at Iowa and evaluation of the start of her WNBA rookie season.
INDIANAPOLIS — The game was going on, but Caitlin Clark chose not to be a part of it.
The Indiana Fever superstar wasn’t watching from the sideline Friday against the Minnesota Lynx; she wasn’t stuck in foul trouble or nursing an injury. She was in the middle of the action, lying on the court, and had simply given up. It was as if Clark was in a video game and the game player’s controller died. But this wasn’t virtual. This was the real thing.
This was a matchup — and a potential first-round playoff preview — between a pair of MVP candidates and their teams. Yet Clark’s composure had evaporated. After Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier blocked Clark’s shot and sent her to the floor, Clark didn’t get back up. She didn’t even try. Instead, she stared up at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse rafters for a couple of seconds while the Lynx played five-on-four on the other end, resulting in a midrange jumper by Courtney Williams that extended Minnesota’s lead to 10 points.
Clark thought she’d been fouled. A foul wasn’t called. And the Fever’s disastrous third quarter continued as the Lynx held on for a 99-88 victory. That rage-filled sequence from Clark, one in which she vehemently complained to the refs and had to be subbed out, didn’t decide the outcome of the game. But it certainly wasn’t helpful.
“I think I could have done a little bit better job controlling my emotions,” said Clark, who finished with 25 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds.
Caitlin Clark congratulating the ref for getting a call right.
She’s fed up 😭pic.twitter.com/91BViQWD4E
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) September 7, 2024
Fever coach Christie Sides, though appreciative of Clark’s fiery nature, was more direct.
“It reminds me of Diana Taurasi,” Sides said. “So when she’s upset or mad, that’s what we’ve been working on, trying to figure out how to get past those moments. I was worried she was going to pick up a (technical foul) in that third quarter, and thank goodness she didn’t. But that’s growth, and she’s gotta learn that in those moments, I need my point guard to have a cool head.”
