Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever Lost to Seattle Storm Because of Coach Christie Sides’ Action!

.
.
.

Storm hand Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever loss in front of record crowd

1 of 19 | Indiana’s Caitlan Clark pushes the ball up the floor as the Fever close the gap with Seattle in the final minute of play. The Indiana Fever played the Seattle Storm in WNBA basketball Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at Climate… (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)More 

Seattle Times staff reporter

More than a few fans at the Storm’s matchup against the Indiana Fever Wednesday night were on hand to witness Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA game in Seattle.

Sprinkled among the franchise record-setting crowd of 18,343 at Climate Pledge Arena were several fans wearing black and gold No. 22 Iowa shirts on hand to cheer the Fever rookie sensation.

Clark didn’t disappoint while shrugging off a cold-shooting stretch at the start and nearly carrying Indiana to its first win of the season.

However, Jewell Loyd, who struggled with accuracy in previous games, scored a season-high 32 points and the Storm overcame a potentially disastrous turnover near the end to secure a hard-fought 85-83 win.

Caitlin Clark recounts the support received from Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird. Clark plays her first game against the Storm Wednesday as an Indiana Fever guard. (Matt Calkins / The Seattle Times)
“It’s not always going to be pretty,” said Loyd who converted 12 of 24 shots and had a season-high 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals. “It’s not always going to be blowouts, but you find moments in the game when you (say to yourself) this is why we play.”

Nneka Ogwumike returned from a two-game layoff due to an ankle injury and resumed her red-hot scoring while tallying 22 points — her third game with 20 or more.

“Today was one of those days where I knew I had to push through some things,” said Ogwumike who converted 10 of 15 shots and had nine rebounds. “I just pride myself on being efficient in every way. Being aggressive in everything that I do (and) trying to communicate. I just want to continue to do that on a very consistent basis. That’s just the name of my game.”

Ezi Magbegor had 14 points and Sami Whitcomb 10 for Seattle, which committed a season-low nine turnovers.

However, the Storm’s last turnover nearly cost them the game.

Seattle led 79-73 in the final 2½ minutes when Indiana pulled to within 84-83 following three free throws from Clark with 11.3 seconds left.

After a timeout, Whitcomb attempted to inbound a pass to Ogwumike, but the ball ricocheted out of bounds.

On the ensuing possession, Clark mishandled an inbound pass and during the scramble, Jordan Horston forced a jump ball against Aliyah Boston.

The Storm won the tip and Ogwumike connected on one of two free throws for the final point with 2.6 seconds left.

Indiana didn’t have any timeouts and Boston’s desperation three-pointer was way off target as time expired.

“This is the fifth game of the season and for us to pull out a win like that, a win is a win,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “This league is tough. There’s just 12 teams and everyone is talented. We are fairly knew in these moments as a unit. … I thought there was a lot of poise and communication down the stretch and really tight focus and effort to complete plays.”

It’s not often when a contest played in the second week of the season felt like a must-win game, but that’s the scenario the Storm (2-3) were in Wednesday night.

“What’s very crucial for is that we don’t fall in a hole early,” Quinn said noting the Storm trailed in the first quarter in their two previous losses.

On Monday, Seattle fell behind 27-15 during a 74-63 loss against the New York Liberty and last Friday Minnesota jumped on the Storm 22-16 before claiming a 102-93 overtime win.

Heeding Quinn’s hopes for a fast start, Loyd came out firing and scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter to carry the Storm to a 25-16 lead in the opening frame.

Loyd continued her offensive assault in the second quarter. She tallied nine points and was joined by Ogwumike, who canned five of six shots in the period for 10 points.

The dynamic duo tallied all the points in the second quarter for the Storm, which took a 44-40 lead into halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Clark who had five points on 2-for-9 shooting performance in the first half and sank three of four shots in the third nine points.

With Clark dropping two of her trademark long-distance 3-point daggers, the Fever took control and outscored the Storm 20-14 in the quarter to go up 60-58 heading to the fourth.

“It’s not just one person guarding one person today,” Quinn said. “It’s a team effort, especially when you think about the ability to be physical and being in space with our coverages on Caitlin.

“We’re well aware that Kelsey Mitchell is having a great start to the season. She’s really important. Connectivity is knowing the assignment and following the scout.”

Clark finished with 21 points on 6-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds and seven assists while Mitchell chipped in 17 points and NaLyssa Smith added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Fever (0-5).

The rematch in Seattle is June 27, which is expected to draw another sellout crowd – just the third since the Storm has played at Climate Pledge Arena.

“It’s great for the city of Seattle,” Quinn said. “It’s great for women’s basketball and basketball in general. To have an ability to put new eyes on the game and generate this magnetic energy that’s coming from basketball. I love it. I love that I was a part of it and hopefully we can keep it flowing.”