INDIANAPOLIS — For nearly three quarters, the Indiana Fever searched for an answer. When they finally found one, it vanished almost as quickly as it arrived.
Sophie Cunningham’s two free throws with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter gave Indiana its first lead of the night, 47-46, igniting the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd.
Less than three minutes later, the momentum had swung back to the Golden State Valkyries.
Valkyries’ guard Kaitlyn Chen erased Indiana’s lead with a scoring barrage, pouring in 10 consecutive points to close the third quarter. What had been a one-point Fever advantage became a seven-point deficit entering the fourth, and Indiana never recovered, losing 88-75 Wednesday night as the Valkyries extended their winning streak to eight games.
Buy 2026 Indiana Fever tickets!
Chen’s scoring spree proved to be the turning point, but it wasn’t the only thing that doomed Indiana. The Fever (14-10) never established the up-tempo style that has fueled much of their success this season, committing 16 turnovers that the Valkyries converted into 22 points.
“They’re probably the best defensive team in the league,” Caitlin Clark said. “They’re really good at that.”
“They’re last in the league in pace. We’re first in the league in pace. We scored 75 points. They scored 88,” she added. “We just did what they wanted to do.”
Indiana briefly found its footing late in the third quarter, stringing together stops and pushing the ball in transition to erase a double-digit deficit. But Chen’s late-quarter takeover halted the comeback before it could gather momentum, allowing the Valkyries to seize control for good.
“It’s also hard to play with pace when you’re not creating turnovers, you’re not getting deflections, you’re not getting stops,” Clark said. “I feel like that’s kind of what allowed us to make a run there in the third.”
Cunningham echoed Clark’s assessment, saying it lacked in one of its greatest strengths.
“I just think we lacked pace tonight, honestly,” Cunningham said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to play what works for us.
“We’ve got to keep our pace high. We’ve got to play our defensive schemes, take care of business on the defensive end.”
Clark finished with 13 points, six assists and three rebounds while remaining on a 25-minute restriction as she continues to work her way back from a back injury. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 20 points, while Aliyah Boston added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Coach Stephanie White said the Fever made life difficult on themselves by falling behind early against one of the league’s stingiest defenses.
“I thought our energy was not great to start,” White said. “It’s hard when you dig yourself a hole against a really solid defensive team because they don’t give you extra possessions very often and they make it really hard on you.”
“The turnovers kill you when you’re trying to mount a comeback,” White continued. “I felt like they hit first often and we just couldn’t consistently recover.”
The Valkyries shot 51.7% from the field while capitalizing on Indiana’s mistakes.
Asked whether the team’s four-game West Coast road trip contributed to the sluggish performance, White acknowledged it may have been a factor but refused to use it as an excuse.
“Probably, but yeah, we don’t have time for that,” White said. “This has got to be no excuses. Standard over feelings. Everybody in the league goes through this.”
Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. 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: How the Indiana Fever’s comeback faded against red-hot Valkyries: ‘Standard over feelings’
Reporting by Jessica Garcete, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jessica Garcete, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
