NEW YORK — About two hours before Wednesday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the New York Liberty, the scene outside of Barclays Center could have easily been mistaken for the crowds in Iowa City or Indianapolis that have been clamoring to see a glimpse of Caitlin Clark.
Thousands of fans sporting Iowa Hawkeyes and Fever jerseys were aplenty and awaiting entry to see this pivotal matchup of Eastern Conference rivals, and those who showed up to see Clark were sorely disappointed as she missed the game after aggravating her right groin in Tuesday’s 85-77 win against the Connecticut Sun in Boston.
Fever head coach Stephanie White again had to shuffle her lineup against the defending WNBA champions, noting that Clark is day-to-day with her injury and her All-Star weekend availability in Indianapolis, including being a team captain for the All-Star Game and Friday’s 3-point contest, is uncertain. It’s Clark’s fourth different muscle injury this year, after never missing a game during her collegiate career and her Rookie of the Year campaign last season.
‘I think that we’ve approached it that way from a slow pace from the beginning,’ Fever coach Stephanie White said. ‘The big picture is the most important: for her health and wellness, long-term, and for our team.’
The impact of Clark’s absence on the floor cannot be mistaken. During her absence, the Fever have been an inside team, feeding the ball to All-Star center Aliyah Boston, who leads the WNBA in field goal percentage, and Kelsey Mitchell, who has picked up the scoring slack as well.
But before a sellout crowd of 17,371 in Brooklyn, the Fever were down as many as 17 in the first half, and were routed 98-77, suffering their worst loss of the season, thanks to poor shooting and the inability to stop New York in a transition or any other phase of the game.
Breanna Stewart led five New York players in double figures with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Sabrina Ionesua had 15 points and nine assists, and Natasha Cloud added 14 points for the efficient Liberty, who shot 58%, with 30 assists on 37 made baskets, while knocking down 14 of their 27 3-point attempts.
The Fever, who are now 4-6 without Clark in the lineup, were led by Mitchell, who scored 16 points, snapping a string of three straight games of her scoring 20 points or more, and Sophie Cunningham, who had 12.
Second half expectations
Both teams recognize that achieving their postseason goals depends on their health. While Clark will have to manage her groin injury for the time being, New York is set to welcome back center Jonquel Jones — who has missed a month because of a right ankle injury — when these same two teams meet in the first game after the All-Star break on Tuesday, July 22.
“It would mean everything,” Brondello said of the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP and five-time All-Star. “Every team goes through adversity with injuries, and we’re no different this year. I thought we managed it as well as we could, but I think we realized how important she is for how we play at both ends of the floor.”
The Liberty have been fortunate, still leading the conference at 15-6, despite posting a 5-5 record without Jones.
Clark’s injury puts more of a spotlight on Indiana, who head into the All-Star Break at 12-11. White said one of the things she is doing is trying to keep her All-WNBA superstar in good spirits, while looking at the big picture of championship goals set at the beginning of the season.
“The most important thing for us is to keep her upbeat, continue to support her and let her know we got her back and let her know we’re going to go battle for her,” White said about Clark before Wednesday’s game.
“I consider it good news. For me, anything we’re talking about still day-to-day is always good news for me,” White said about the injury. ‘Being injured and continuing to have setbacks is frustrating. Mentally, emotionally. Often times, being injured is isolating. The primary conversations we’ve had is checking in.’