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Hours after reaching play-offs, Fever avoid disappointment

Vaseline September 5, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — The emotional roller coaster of the WNBA season is physically and emotionally draining.

Despite a player’s best efforts, some games carry more weight than others. Fresh off their first playoff berth since 2016, the Indiana Fever faced the bottom-of-the-table Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday and looked set to make a playoff push.

Eleven first-half turnovers put Indiana behind in the first half. The surging Fever looked disjointed and out of sync, but they overcame a slow start and pulled away in the second half to claim a 93-86 victory.

“I thought we could have come out with a little more energy,” Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. “I thought we looked a little flat, and I don’t think it was because we were happy with being in the playoffs or anything. I’m just not sure our energy was where it needed to be.

“I thought we could have handled that a little bit better. We weren’t always on the same page, and I think that was the case from the beginning, and we weren’t really playing at the pace we normally do.”

Emotional disappointments have hobbled the Clark-led Fever all season. Clark’s first career triple-double against the New York Liberty snapped a nine-game losing streak to New York in early July. The Fever followed up the win with a loss to the struggling Washington Mystics. The Fever rebounded with two impressive wins against the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx, respectively, before laying a foundational stone against the slumping Dallas Wings before the Olympic break.

The Fever have sometimes downplayed their opponents, but they have shown during their current five-game winning streak that they can flip a switch and beat a team when necessary.

Aliyah Boston turned the game around in the second half. The sophomore forward scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds after the break. NaLyssa Smith added 13 points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Fever coach Christie Sides said the Fever needed to refocus on getting the ball in against the Sparks. Ultimately, Sides admitted the team needed an emotional reset after the high that comes with clinching a playoff spot.

“(The Sparks) were hitting (shots). They were matching us. I didn’t feel like we were as sharp defensively as we were,” Sides said. “I didn’t hear us talking as much as we were.

“I think there was a lot of emotion today that maybe played a part in trying to get going for this game tonight. … The playoff crunch, they were excited and that’s huge for us. So I think that had a little bit to do with it, but that’s no excuse. It was just a grind, and we pulled it out.”