Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark noticed right away. He went on to tell coach Christie Sides that his pass to Temi Fagbenle in transition was bad and the decision to try was also bad. The Fever trailed by one possession with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter when it happened. They then fell, 99-88, to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night. Although Clark was not specifically asked after the match about the shift, he took responsibility for it. “Honestly, I thought we played really well in the fourth quarter,” Clark said afterward. “My turnover in transition is what I think ended our momentum … honestly, I made a really bad read. I thought the girl would pass. She never ended up passing.”
Clark perfectly read the Lynx’s thoughts on the play leading up to his turnover. Alanna Smith jumped Courtney Williams on the perimeter, and when the Minnesota guard was double-crossed, Smith faded to the elbow for her open look. Except Clark turned around, jumped up and with both arms deflected the taller attacker’s shot and then caught him.
In that moment, the favorite for the title of Rookie of the Year showed his talent. He had built his game about 45 seconds before the jam, Clark lost his defender at the arc and, of course, scored the decisive basket to bring the Fever within three points. Teammate Aliyah Boston read Clark’s return in full. Clark waved his arms several times to motivate the sold-out crowd. And they obeyed.
So on: It was his fourth 3-pointer of the night, after the block, after the run. She and Temi Fagbenle, her transition teacher, charged three Minnesota defenders. They were shorthanded, and Clark led Fagbenle to his seventh turnover of the night, compared to eight assists. On Minnesota’s next possession, Williams made a three-pointer that he hadn’t attempted before — and as Clark later admitted — it took his breath away.
In an instant, everyone remembered that Clark was still 22 years old and still learning. Emotions were high Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Clark energized the crowd more than once during the third quarter, either to make more noise when he was called for an illegal foul, or to applaud and congratulate the referees who allowed him two shots at the basket. Clark was excited. She got excited as she left the game with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Another reminder: it all happened before the three-point shot, after the block and the turnover.
“She’s so passionate,” Sides said. “When she got angry or upset, we tried to understand how to pass those times. I was afraid that she would make a [false technique] … Thank God she did not … she needs to learn that in these moments I need my head to keep a cool head… if not it’s a mistake you thought, it should come back.