A frustrating sequence for Caitlin Clark spelled doom for the Indiana Fever on Saturday night in Brooklyn, where their comeback bid against the New York Liberty came to a sudden end in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Looking for their first lead since the opening frame, the Fever found themselves down three in the Barclays Center. A free throw from Breanna Stewart and a layup from Leonie Fiebich had given the Liberty a pinch of breathing room after Kelsey Mitchell knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer moments earlier.
Coming out of a timeout, Clark took the rock to the rack. Her contested shot was off the mark. No foul was called, much to the star’s dismay. Clark threw her hands up as she started to make her way back down the court. Then she picked up the pace and made a bee-line to help Mitchell trap Pauline Astier. But an emotional Clark got too physical and drew a costly whistle, sending Astier to the charity stripe with 29 seconds to go.
There was plenty of time for Indiana to play out the defensive possession without fouling in what, at the time, was still a one-possession game. Instead, Astier grew the Liberty’s advantage to five points. To add insult to injury, Clark missed two subsequent free throws.
Those misfires were the nail in the coffin for the Fever (24-14), who finished 11 of 22 from the line collectively. New York (23-15) hung on for a 109-102 victory.
This story is being updated.
Leave a Comment