Fever fall to Wings in Caitlin Clark’s home return despite fast start
It was Clark’s first game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 291 days. She led a strong start, but a second-quarter collapse unraveled the Fever in a preseason loss to the Wings.
Caitlin Clark was greeted by a loud ovation as she was introduced by Kurt Streblow at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night. It had been a long time coming — for fans, and especially for her.
Last Saturday, Clark played in her first WNBA game since last July. This game marked her first home appearance since July 13, after injuries sidelined her for much of the past year.
Coincidentally, both came against the Dallas Wings.
Clark wasted no time, scoring 14 of her game-high 21 points in the opening seven minutes. She shot 4-of-5 from the field and converted all four free throws, helping the Indiana Fever to a 29–25 lead after one quarter.
But despite the fast start, it was not a strong showing for Indiana.
Fever head coach Stephanie White said her team lacked urgency, was out-toughed, and failed to play cohesively in a 95–80 preseason loss.
“We let them move the ball and move themselves really wherever they wanted to,” she said. “I didn’t feel like we had a sense of urgency. I felt like we were disconnected on the defensive end of the floor. We weren’t moving when the ball moves, and then we were standing watching.”
The issues began defensively — poor point-of-attack resistance, inconsistent screen communication, and weak-side breakdowns. For a newly constructed roster, those growing pains showed.
“We just have to play better defense,” Clark said. “There’s gonna be moments where we miss shots and there’s gonna be moments where you know things don’t go our way. We have to find a way to play better defense and we will.
“I think our disconnectedness will improve; it has to.”
White noted before the game that with only eight days of training camp, the focus remains foundational. They haven’t had enough time for install to even consider intentionally hiding strategy before these two teams meet on Opening Day.
“It’s really just about putting in our base-level stuff and making sure that we continue to execute that. It’s a preseason game so we just want to get players experience with each other. We want to get experience, as coaches, with different rotations.”
It’s a work-in-progress for all teams. Perhaps, more so now than ever with the roster turnover due to the new CBA.
The Wings shot 51%, dominated the glass 45–26, and outscored Indiana by 20 points in the paint. They won comfortably despite committing 22 turnovers.
“A little undisciplined,” Clark added. “Just soft defensively.”
