Fever HC Stephanie White shields Caitlin Clark from blame for crushing Aces loss

Head coach Stephanie White continues to have her players’ backs, especially Caitlin Clark despite the star guard’s mistakes in the Indiana Fever’s overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night.

Going into the game, Indiana has been shining as one of the best teams in the entire league. They even gained possession of the East’s top seed for a solid stretch of games, making a case as a potential title contender.

However, Clark was unable to come through in the clutch as she hoped. She missed two free throws with seven seconds remaining that ended up giving Las Vegas the tying score to force overtime and secure the road win. White reflected on the loss after the game, coming to Clark’s defense as she believes in the star guard’s growth.

“I think you like that as ownership,” White said. “But as an athlete and as a coach and as somebody who’s been around for a long time, it doesn’t come down to one singular thing. Like we know that. She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel.”

“And she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean she’s a competitor. She’s a fighter…But it doesn’t come down to one thing and I know, again, it’s easy to look at it and think that it does, but it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it’s a different ballgame.”

How Caitlin Clark, Fever played against Aces

Caitlin Clark and the Fever certainly competed well against one of the title favorites in the Aces. However, they still have room for improvement with their costly mistakes in the 86-84 defeat in overtime.

Three players scored in double-digits for Indiana in the loss. Kelsey Mitchell led the team with a stat line of 28 points, four assists and two steals. She shot 10-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. Aliyah Boston came next with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Caitlin Clark had 20 points and eight assists, while Monique Billings provided eight points and four rebounds.

Indiana fell to a 19-12 record on the season, sitting at second place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are above the New York Liberty and the Washington Mystics while trailing the Atlanta Dream.

The Fever will look to bounce back in their next matchup, being on the road. They take on the Chicago Sky as tip-off commences on Aug. 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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