Caitlin Clark and Coach Stephanie White Analyze Disappointing Aspects of Fever Star’s Performance Following Her Return from Groin Strain, Discussing Missed Opportunities, On-Court Struggles, and the Challenges Faced During the Comeback Game as They Seek Solutions to Improve Results in Future Matches and Regain Momentum.

Clark’s first game back, a 80-61 loss to the Valkyries, dropped the Fever below .500

Caitlin Clark’s return from a groin strain was less than ideal for the Indiana Fever during Wednesday’s 80-61 loss to the Golden State Valkyries, a discombobulation of sorts within a lineup that never seemed to be on the same page.

After missing the Fever’s previous five games, Clark’s shooting slump continued as she stumbled her way to 4-for-12 effort from the floor. Golden State never relinquished the lead after jumping ahead on Kayla Thornton’s 3-pointer with 2:41 left in the first half.

Clark was blunt in her assessment of Indiana’s play after its second straight loss dropped the Fever to four games back of the New York Liberty in the East.

“I thought we played with energy in the first five minutes, and then when they kind of went on their first run, it deflated us a little bit, which I’m not really sure why,” Clark said, via The Indianapolis Star. “But the offense, I think for us, it starts on defense, and we struggled scouting report wise, we struggled personnel. We struggled to do what the coaches asked of us.”
Asked to respond to Clark blaming the setback on the Fever’s lack of execution and faulty scouting centered around personnel, Indiana coach Stephanie White echoed those complaints.”With the exception of about two five-minute spurts, our attention to detail was poor,” White said. “I’m not sure if it’s not knowing the game plan as much, because if it’s not knowing the game plan, then that’s a whole other conversation, as much as not executing the game plan. Our attention to detail, undisciplined — I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that’s disappointing.”

In the starting lineup for the first time since June 24, Clark turned it over on the Fever’s first possession and missed her first field goal attempt on a pull-up before connecting on her next two shots in the first quarter.
“It’s just nice to get back out there and get into the flow of playing with my teammates again,” Clark said before the game. “It’s going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. I don’t know what the type of minutes I’m gonna get will look like, but when I’m out there, compete, play hard.”This is going to be a team that’s going to be moving constantly, so just being aware and active, bring energy. It’s obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I’m definitely excited to get back out there.”

Indiana is 5-5 in the 10 games Clark has missed this season and is 9-10 overall on the campaign.