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    • Caitlin Clark shooting woes, Fever foul troubles lead to loss to Aces
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    Caitlin Clark shooting woes, Fever foul troubles lead to loss to Aces

    Vaseline Posted on

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever lost their third game of the season against Las Vegas on Wednesday night, 86-75 to the Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

    The Fever are now 19-18, still No. 6 in the WNBA standings. Indiana has one last chance against the Aces on Friday.

    More: Caitlin Clark wants people to register to vote after liking Taylor Swift’s endorsement

    Fever still can’t beat Aces

    The only team Indiana hasn’t beaten at least once this season is Las Vegas. And that will remain the case for at least two more days. Indiana has avoided sweeps of all the top teams in the league, including New York, Connecticut and Seattle.

    The Fever get one more chance to beat the Aces on Friday as the two return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a rematch.

    For what it’s worth, Indiana’s wins over the top teams came only in the final game of the series: Indiana defeated New York in the fourth and final meeting between the teams, as well as Connecticut and Seattle.

    What the Aces did to beat them will still be fresh in people’s minds on Friday.

    Early bug issues unbalance Fever attack

    The Fever started off strong — they opened the game on a 7-0 run, frustrating Aces coach Becky Hammon enough to call a timeout 36 seconds into the game. That’s when leading MVP candidate A’ja Wilson found her chance. Wilson went on to score the Aces’ first eight points of the game, bringing Las Vegas back into the fold.

    After this, Lexie Hull got into trouble for mistakes.

    Hull picked up two fouls in the first quarter — both shooting fouls on Las Vegas’ forwards. She was briefly replaced and then continued to play in the second quarter until picking up her third foul at the 6:15 mark, officially putting her in foul trouble.

    To keep Hull in the second half, coach Christie Sides replaced her with Kristy Wallace for the remainder of the first half. Wallace, who had started 15 games earlier this season, had been on the bench for most of the time, especially since the Olympic break. Before Wednesday night, the last time Wallace had appeared in a game for meaningful minutes was on July 6, when he played six minutes against the New York Liberty.

    Wallace ultimately played just four minutes – Kelsey Mitchell replaced her around the 2-minute mark and Katie Lou Samuelson finished the half with 4 minutes.

    Indiana’s rotation looked out of whack with Hull on the bench in foul trouble, leading to just 32% of their shooting in the first half as a whole. Hull played just 10 minutes in the first half, and the Fever’s defense suffered as a result; Las Vegas shot 43% from the field and 45% from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

    Aliyah Boston has been in fourth place for most of the rankings due to error issues

    Hull didn’t foul again until the fourth quarter, but another key starting pitcher was benched in the fourth quarter.

    Sophomore center Aliyah Boston, who dominated the boards with 10 in the first three quarters, picked up her fifth foul with a minute left in the third. Indiana initially challenged the call (a bit late by Las Vegas standards, leading to a technical foul on Hammon), but it was unsuccessful.

    So Boston went to the bench in place of Temi Fagbenle and Katie Lou Samuelson, who took the 5th spot. Fagbenle is also a capable rebounder, having grabbed two in the opening minutes of the first quarter. But the Fever lacked Boston’s size in the paint in the final minutes of the game, as she was usually the one battling Wilson in close.

    Boston finally came back around the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but committed its sixth foul on Wilson a minute later.

    How many points did Caitlin Clark score against the Aces?

    Caitlin Clark had 16 points on 6 of 22 shooting, along with three rebounds and five assists, putting Clark six shy of the WNBA single-season assist record.

    Clark also left the game for about two minutes in the first quarter, and she left the bench entirely to go back to the locker room. She quickly returned and got back into the game without incident.

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