After a five-game absence, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark returned to court to take on the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday. Clark showed plenty of rust in her return, scoring just 10 points on a poor shooting night.
It was a tough game for Clark — and the entire Fever offense. The Fever’s second-year star went 4 of 12 from the field. She added 5 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal, but also turned the ball over four times in the 80-61 loss.
Advertisement
Clark wasn’t the only member of the Fever who had a tough game. The Valkyries stymied the entire Fever offense. Kelsey Mitchell was the only other starter on the Fever who scored double-digit points in the loss, and she shot just 3 of 13 from the field.
It was a disappointing result considering how pumped fans were to see Clark get back on the court. Fans packed the house to see Clark’s return, selling out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana. They greeted their second-year star with raucous cheers when she was announced as part of the starting lineup.
While Clark did not have a minutes restriction during the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White said Clark would be limited to roughly four or five minutes at a time to see how she responded to her injury. Clark was subbed out as promised, but still managed to play 25 minutes during the contest.
Advertisement
She was involved immediately during her first five minutes on the court, forcing an offensive foul, turning the ball over and grabbing two rebounds on the first four possessions of the game. After missing her first shot, Clark hit a step-back jumper and a three to pick up five points early in the contest before being subbed out.
Clark subbed back into the contest with 2:38 to go in the first quarter. She missed her next shot and was charged with another turnover before the quarter ended. After the Fever jumped out to a hot start, the Valkyries closed the gap, giving the Fever a narrow 23-21 lead after the first quarter.
The Valkyries dominated the second quarter, clamping down on the Fever defensively. Clark was far less involved in the quarter, missing two shots and picking up an assist. She entered halftime with five points and two assists in 12 minutes of play. The Fever trailed 41-32 heading into halftime.
Advertisement
The start of the third quarter proved to be more of the same. The Valkyries suffocating defense prevented Clark and the Fever from doing anything to open the half.
Clark was effected by Golden State’s excellent defense, picking up two more turnovers in the first two minutes of the quarter. With eight minutes to go in the third, the Valkyries found themselves up 49-35.
With the Fever in catch-up mode, the team seemed to step up its game. Clark drained a three and forced two turnovers as the Fever attempted to inch their way back into the contest. Following an 10-1 run, Indiana cut the deficit to just five points.
Advertisement
Indiana’s success wouldn’t last. Yet another run by Golden State pushed the team’s lead back to double-digits by the end of the quarter. The Valkyries led 64-51 with one quarter to go.
That essentially put the game out of reach for the Fever, who couldn’t seem to knock down a bucket during the fourth quarter. Indiana missed its first seven shots of the quarter. The team shot just 30.9 percent in the game, its worst showing all season.
With 4:35 left, Clark was subbed out. She did not return with the game out of reach.
The loss drops the Fever to 9-10 on the year. Clark — and the rest of the roster — will look to get back on track Friday, when the Fever take on the Atlanta Dream.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
PSG é favorito ao título do Mundial de Clubes para ‘supercomputador’ da Opta Analyst e vantagem cresce para final
Dembélé em ação contra o Real Madrid (Créditos: David Ramos/Getty Images)O Mundial de Clubes terá uma finalíssima entre Chelsea e PSG no próximo domingo (13), às 16h (de Brasília), no Metlife Stadium, em Nova Jersey. Avassaladores no mata-mata, os dois times brigam pelo título do primeiro torneio de clubes com 32 participantes e uma cota financeira de US$ 40 milhões. Após a classificação dos franceses, a Opta Analyst, empresa de estudo de estatísticas, colocou o atual campeão da Champions League em vantagem. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEDurante a realização do Mundial, o ‘supercomputador’ alternou entre Chelsea e PSG como principais favoritos ao título, e as prospecções acabaram se concretizando. Agora para a decisão, a Opta coloca amplo favoritismo aos franceses, que aparecem com 64,42% de chances de título, enquanto o time de Londres tem 35,58%.Em sua campanha no Mundial, o Paris Saint-Germain só […]
Christian Norgaard to Arsenal: Everything you need to know about the transfer – TLDR
Arsenal have signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford for a fee of £10million ($13m; €11m), plus a further £2m in potential add-ons.The 31-year-old has signed a two-year contract at the Emirates with the option of a third year.As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.Give me their backstory in 100 words… Norgaard had to wait patiently to break through outside his native Denmark. After leaving Lyngby for Hamburg in 2012, he was plagued by ankle issues and left Germany after one season with no first-team appearances. Back in Denmark, he spent five seasons at Brondby — three of them under Thomas Frank — and won the club’s player […]
Yankees’ Brian Cashman vouches for Anthony Volpe. But a closer look shows reason for concern
NEW YORK — Two years ago, Brian Cashman passionately defended the New York Yankees’ player development arm during an hourlong back-and-forth with the media at the 2023 GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. At the heart of his defense was shortstop Anthony Volpe, who won a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season but finished in the bottom 10 of the league offensively.AdvertisementCashman was adamant that Volpe would “crush it offensively” the following season and that his struggles at the plate in 2023 were related to not getting much experience at Triple A, even though the Yankees viewed him as the best option for the major-league shortstop job out of spring training.In 2024, the year Cashman expected a breakout offensively, Volpe posted a worse OPS (.657) than his rookie season (.666). Now in his third season, Volpe once again has an […]
Tigers’ Zach McKinstry is an unlikely, but also well-deserved, All-Star
DETROIT — Nope, he didn’t think this would happen. Not three years ago, when he was buried on the bench with the Dodgers, not back when he was getting cut from the Cubs, not last year when he was clinging to his Tigers roster spot for dear life.Zach McKinstry has always been self-aware. Aware of the fact he was a 33rd-round draft pick out of Central Michigan, which before now had only produced one other MLB All-Star (outfielder Tom Tresh, who represented the Yankees in 1962 and 1963).AdvertisementHe’s aware of the fact he’s now 30, a scrappy super-utility player, the type of guy who can make a roster function but rarely gets the acclaim.But look at the numbers on the scoreboard, and it is difficult to dismiss Zach McKinstry’s case for an All-Star nod. He is hitting .286 with an […]
MLB Draft 2025: Names to know beyond the top 100 prospects
There will be more than 600 players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft. We have ranked the top 100 prospects, but there are many more players who could make an impact at the next level whose names will also be called during the draft. Below are scouting notes on players who aren’t on the top-100 list but could be drafted.(Note: Prospects listed in alphabetical order; this isn’t a ranking. Scouting grades are on a traditional 20-80 scale.)Chris Arroyo, 1B, VirginiaH: 6-2 | W: 225 | B/T: L/L | DOB: 9/17/2004Arroyo started out at Florida in 2023 as a reliever, then went to a JUCO for a year, landing at Virginia this spring and becoming their everyday first baseman while throwing 12 innings out of the bullpen. He hit .291/.361/.519, but there’s probably more power in there than the line indicates; his […]
Nikola Topić, Bronny James and more non-rookies to watch at Las Vegas Summer League
Cooper Flagg is playing!OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m here to inform you that many other notable players who are not Flagg will take the floor at Las Vegas Summer League, including several who aren’t rookies at all.I know this is a shock to the system, because summer league is usually about rookies. After all, this is the first chance for fans to see how all the lottery picks will look on an NBA floor. By the time a young player’s second and third seasons have rolled around, we know a lot more about them … usually.AdvertisementBut not always. Take Nikola Topić, for instance. He is an NBA champion, and in three months, he’ll play his first regular-season NBA game.The Oklahoma City guard spent his entire rookie season watching from the sidelines while rehabbing a […]
Related
PSG é favorito ao título do Mundial de Clubes para ‘supercomputador’ da Opta Analyst e vantagem cresce para final
Dembélé em ação contra o Real Madrid (Créditos: David Ramos/Getty Images)O Mundial de Clubes terá uma finalíssima entre Chelsea e PSG no próximo domingo (13), às 16h (de Brasília), no Metlife Stadium, em Nova Jersey. Avassaladores no mata-mata, os dois times brigam pelo título do primeiro torneio de clubes com 32 participantes e uma cota financeira de US$ 40 milhões. Após a classificação dos franceses, a Opta Analyst, empresa de estudo de estatísticas, colocou o atual campeão da Champions League em vantagem. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEDurante a realização do Mundial, o ‘supercomputador’ alternou entre Chelsea e PSG como principais favoritos ao título, e as prospecções acabaram se concretizando. Agora para a decisão, a Opta coloca amplo favoritismo aos franceses, que aparecem com 64,42% de chances de título, enquanto o time de Londres tem 35,58%.Em sua campanha no Mundial, o Paris Saint-Germain só […]
Christian Norgaard to Arsenal: Everything you need to know about the transfer – TLDR
Arsenal have signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford for a fee of £10million ($13m; €11m), plus a further £2m in potential add-ons.The 31-year-old has signed a two-year contract at the Emirates with the option of a third year.As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.Give me their backstory in 100 words… Norgaard had to wait patiently to break through outside his native Denmark. After leaving Lyngby for Hamburg in 2012, he was plagued by ankle issues and left Germany after one season with no first-team appearances. Back in Denmark, he spent five seasons at Brondby — three of them under Thomas Frank — and won the club’s player […]
Yankees’ Brian Cashman vouches for Anthony Volpe. But a closer look shows reason for concern
NEW YORK — Two years ago, Brian Cashman passionately defended the New York Yankees’ player development arm during an hourlong back-and-forth with the media at the 2023 GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. At the heart of his defense was shortstop Anthony Volpe, who won a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season but finished in the bottom 10 of the league offensively.AdvertisementCashman was adamant that Volpe would “crush it offensively” the following season and that his struggles at the plate in 2023 were related to not getting much experience at Triple A, even though the Yankees viewed him as the best option for the major-league shortstop job out of spring training.In 2024, the year Cashman expected a breakout offensively, Volpe posted a worse OPS (.657) than his rookie season (.666). Now in his third season, Volpe once again has an […]
Tigers’ Zach McKinstry is an unlikely, but also well-deserved, All-Star
DETROIT — Nope, he didn’t think this would happen. Not three years ago, when he was buried on the bench with the Dodgers, not back when he was getting cut from the Cubs, not last year when he was clinging to his Tigers roster spot for dear life.Zach McKinstry has always been self-aware. Aware of the fact he was a 33rd-round draft pick out of Central Michigan, which before now had only produced one other MLB All-Star (outfielder Tom Tresh, who represented the Yankees in 1962 and 1963).AdvertisementHe’s aware of the fact he’s now 30, a scrappy super-utility player, the type of guy who can make a roster function but rarely gets the acclaim.But look at the numbers on the scoreboard, and it is difficult to dismiss Zach McKinstry’s case for an All-Star nod. He is hitting .286 with an […]
MLB Draft 2025: Names to know beyond the top 100 prospects
There will be more than 600 players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft. We have ranked the top 100 prospects, but there are many more players who could make an impact at the next level whose names will also be called during the draft. Below are scouting notes on players who aren’t on the top-100 list but could be drafted.(Note: Prospects listed in alphabetical order; this isn’t a ranking. Scouting grades are on a traditional 20-80 scale.)Chris Arroyo, 1B, VirginiaH: 6-2 | W: 225 | B/T: L/L | DOB: 9/17/2004Arroyo started out at Florida in 2023 as a reliever, then went to a JUCO for a year, landing at Virginia this spring and becoming their everyday first baseman while throwing 12 innings out of the bullpen. He hit .291/.361/.519, but there’s probably more power in there than the line indicates; his […]
Nikola Topić, Bronny James and more non-rookies to watch at Las Vegas Summer League
Cooper Flagg is playing!OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m here to inform you that many other notable players who are not Flagg will take the floor at Las Vegas Summer League, including several who aren’t rookies at all.I know this is a shock to the system, because summer league is usually about rookies. After all, this is the first chance for fans to see how all the lottery picks will look on an NBA floor. By the time a young player’s second and third seasons have rolled around, we know a lot more about them … usually.AdvertisementBut not always. Take Nikola Topić, for instance. He is an NBA champion, and in three months, he’ll play his first regular-season NBA game.The Oklahoma City guard spent his entire rookie season watching from the sidelines while rehabbing a […]
Be the first to leave a comment