INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana fever The team suffered its eighth loss this season on Thursday evening, falling to Seattle for the second time, 103-88.
Indiana is now 1-8 on the season, with a game against the Chicago Sky coming up on Saturday.
Here are three notes:
A brutal third quarter leads to a blowout loss
When Indiana and Seattle played at Climate Pledge Arena last week, the game came down to the final seconds — literally. The Fever took the lead in the final five minutes of the game, and a botched pass ultimately cost them the win. This time, Fever was anticipating fighting with the storm to the wire.
In the first half, it looked like it might happen, as the Fevers trailed by just six points heading into halftime. Ten minutes into the game, with the Fever’s defense almost completely collapsing, they trailed by 22 points.
Indiana’s defense has struggled this season, and it showed for a long time on Thursday. Seattle outscored Indiana 34-18 in the third quarter, shooting 12 of 18 from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range. Indiana went just 7-of-20 from the field in the third quarter. The Storm started out on a 12-4 run, and went on another 16-3 run toward the end of the quarter.
Seattle guard Nneka Ogwumike was unstoppable, going 4-for-4 from the field for nine points. It helped the Storm build an insurmountable lead, allowing them to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Kaitlin Clark picks up the third technical of the season
Clark is not afraid to express her opinion in court. In some cases this season, this has led to a technical foul.
Clark earned her third technical in nine games Thursday night (and her second in two games) for a jaw-drop with Storm guard Victoria Vivians. Clark hit a long three-pointer over Vivians, drawing a huge cheer from the crowd, before Vivians hit her in the face. Clark quickly responded, and the Boston High Fever Center came between the two. Officials ended up calling a double technician for Clark and Vivians.
If Clarke continues this trend, she could face a suspension – where a player can get up to seven technical fouls in a season before being suspended for one game. After that, the player will be suspended for one match for each other technique received (9th, 11th, 13th).
But Clark won’t be alone: Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi has been suspended four times for getting too many technical fouls, including twice in one season.
more:Kaitlyn Clark got into an altercation with Victoria Vivians and committed her third technical foul of the season
Coach Christy Sides also received a technical foul in Thursday’s game after Clark went up for a layup and was exposed to some contact and did not commit any foul. Sides said Tuesday that her players shouldn’t talk to the referees enough to get the technical, leaving it up to her.
“We spend a lot of time talking to officials,” Sides said. We have to leave this alone. We just have to play our game and let them do their job and not put it in their hands. Making decisions that ultimately hurt us, we don’t want to, we shouldn’t get into the technical details. Let me go after those responsible.
NaLyssa Smith returns to the starting lineup
Timi Fagbenle, a forward who came to the Fever on a training camp contract, has worked her way into the starting lineup this season. Mixing her athleticism with Clarke’s fast-paced game, Fagbenle has started the past two games against the Las Vegas Ice and Los Angeles Sparks, taking over the No. 3 position that third-year forward Nalisa Smith has held for two years.
But Fagbenle suffered a left foot injury just two games into her start, keeping her out for at least 2-3 weeks.
That gave Smith another chance. She succeeded in achieving this in her first match. She scored the first four points of the game and had 10 points by the end of the first quarter, and seemed to be coming around to Clark’s passes more and more — including grabbing a rebound pass that the rookie put in the paint for a layup.
While the Fever suffered a 20-point loss, Smith was a bright spot offensively: she finished with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds.
How many points did Kaitlyn Clark score?
The Fever rookie scored 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 3-of-8 from 3, and had nine assists, but seven turnovers.
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