Caitlin Clark Doesn’t Hold Back on Fever Struggles After Loss to Valkyries originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Golden State Valkyries spoiled Caitlin Clark’s return from injury on Wednesday with a 80-61 road win against the Indiana Fever.
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Clark had missed the previous five games, including the Fever’s WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship, with a left groin injury.
She started alongside Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell as part of a new three-guard lineup experiment from head coach Stephanie White, which drew mixed reviews as Clark spent more time playing off the ball.
She finished with 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and four turnovers in 25 minutes against Golden State. The loss dropped Indiana under .500 on the season with a 9-10 record.
After the game, Clark was quick to point out her team’s deficiencies in the deflating home loss.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark greets Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“It starts on the defense,” Clark said. “We struggled to do what the coach asked of us.”
One area the Fever failed to execute was giving up 12 threes, more than three above the Valkyries’ season average (8.9). Golden State entered the game as the No. 1 team in three-point field goal attempts per game (30.1).
With their smaller starting lineup, Indiana was also out-rebounded 47-36, giving up 11 offensive rebounds to Golden State.
“We played with poor energy and effort those are things that can’t happen,” Clark said.
On the bright side, Clark said that personally she felt “pretty good” after playing limited minutes in her return from injury.
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“Just trying to get my legs underneath me and get my wind back, which will happen in the next few games,” Clark told reporters.
The Fever have four more games before the WNBA All-Star break, which will feature Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell playing for “Team Clark” in their home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana has home games against the Atlanta Dream on Friday and the Dallas Wings on Sunday to close out the week before hitting the road to face the Connecticut Sun and the New York Liberty next week.
Related: WNBA All-Star Makes Promise After Not Getting Drafted By Caitlin Clark
Related: Caitlin Clark Shares Painful Details Before Indiana Fever Return
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
