The Indiana Fever had plenty of chances to keep their August 22 matchup against the New York Liberty within reach. But when the game came down to the little things, one area proved particularly costly. The Liberty converted 83% of their free throws, while the Fever managed just 50%, going 11-of-22 from the line in a 109-102 loss. And while missed FT’s can look like a simple shooting problem from the outside, Caitlin Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston knows there is often something much more difficult happening at the line.
In thelatest episode of Post Moves, Candace Parker asked Boston about the mental side of free-throw shooting, especially when those shots can become the difference between winning and losing a game.
“Just focus. But I feel like – it’s, I don’t know, you know, sometimes it’s just dang. I feel like that’s just what it was. It was like, damn, okay, I mean, let’s try another one. Okay, well,” Boston said.
Boston’s comments came after Caitlin Clark publicly expressed her frustration following two crucial missed free throws in the final 24 seconds of the game. Had Clark made them, the outcome might have been different, especially since just seconds earlier, the 24-year-old had missed a short bank shot and then committed a foul.
So Boston, who made both of her free throws with less than 14 seconds left, was then asked by Parker how players deal with the mental side of a miss at the line, with the WNBA legend admitting that she would sometimes get in her own head after missing free throws.
“It’s just a mental battle,” Aliyah Boston added. “That’s literally what it is. People can tell you, ‘You got this, just make the next one,’ or ‘Take a breath,’ and do all that. But sometimes it’s like, dang, you just missed the first one. It’s like, okay, hold on, let’s find our way back.”
In that game, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell all finished with more than 20 points, yet even that combined offensive output wasn’t enough to overcome Indiana’s struggles at the free-throw line – which was surprising for a team currently averaging nearly 82% from the stripe.
The Fever, however, didn’t have to wait long to make up for that performance. In their very next game against the Chicago Sky, Indiana bounced back at the free-throw line, converting nearly 70% of its attempts while cruising to a 113-90 win.
With the playoffs now right around the corner, Indiana has already secured its place among the eight postseason teams. So while they have shown they could quickly move past a poor night at the stripe, in the playoffs, where one possession can decide a game, mistakes like the ones that hurt Indiana against New York could prove far more costly.
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The post “Just Focus”: Caitlin Clark’s Teammate Addresses Mental Battle of the Free Throw Line After Her Late-Game Misses vs. Liberty appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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