INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever could not have asked for much else on either of their final two possessions Saturday against the Dallas Wings. Two well-designed and well-executed plays that gave their two best shooters, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, opportunities to extend an eventual 107-104 season-opening loss.
“This was a great test. It was a great game,” Clark said following her 20-point effort. “Our locker room was positive afterwards. We’re not going to hang our heads. We’re going to move forward. There’s a lot to be proud of and a lot to learn from, too. This was only one of 44. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Clark’s opportunity followed former teammate Odyssey Sims free throw with 13.2 seconds remaining. She triggered the inbound to Mitchell, who brought the ball up and passed it off to Aliyah Boston at midcourt.
Buy 2026 Indiana Fever tickets!
Boston quickly flipped the ball to Clark and screened an incoming Paige Bueckers, clearing space for No. 22 at her trademark spot around the logo.
Clark picked up her dribble as Bueckers frantically leapt across, then calmly gathered herself and launched her ninth 3-point try of the game.
The shot clanged off the rim and ping-ponged around the lane, before winding up with the Wings, who granted the Fever a reprieve when Bueckers missed both free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Sophie Cunningham inbounded the ball from the far sideline out of the timeout, patiently waiting as the play took shape. Lexie Hull and Boston both set screens above the wing for Clark, who curled around and screened two more Dallas players as Bueckers guarded the 3-point line.
From that tangled mess of humanity emerged Mitchell, who timed her run with Clark. She caught the inbound pass from Cunningham and ripped a 31-footer that bounced off the rim and ricocheted off the backboard as time expired.
“We got some really good looks,” coach Stephanie White said. “We practice situations all the time — those time-and-score situations — and there are times when you don’t want the defense to be able to set (i.e. the penultimate possession). … Both of those possessions were exactly what we wanted.”
White offered one critique, describing their pace as “a little sluggish.”
“That’s on us,” she said, putting the onus on the coaching staff to be “more disciplined” in sticking with their rotations.
“I feel like maybe we played Kelsey and Caitlin, especially, a little bit too long in the second half before getting them a blow as we were working back,” White continued. “But we still got some really good looks.”
Mitchell played the entire fourth quarter, accounting for 11 of her game-high 30 points during those 10 minutes. Clark logged 9:09 of playing time, accounting for two points on 1 of 6 shooting (0 for 3 from 3).
Both players said everyone was out of breath early in the first and second quarters from the pace and excitement of the game.
“We’re trying to get everybody’s endurance built back up for the season. 44 games in a tight window is a lot,” White said. “I would just go back to us as a staff having to be better of being mindful of that. And in the first game, you’ll get your second wind, which I thought both teams did. It’s going to be a work in progress.”
The Fever (0-1) travel to Los Angeles for a Wednesday tilt with the Sparks (0-0). Tip-off is set for 10:30 p.m.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever ‘not going to hang our heads’ after final plays can’t tie game in loss to Wings
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
