Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark beat by WNBA's best defense in return home

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Fever fell to the Golden State Valkyries, 88-75, on Wednesday night in their first game back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse from their West Coast road trip.

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Caitlin Clark, who remained on a 25-minute restriction while coming back from her back injury, scored 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting, along with three rebounds and six assists. Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 points, and Aliyah Boston had 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Fever are now 14-10 and head into a back-to-back at home on Friday and Saturday.

Here's what I liked and disliked:

What I liked in Indiana Fever's loss vs Golden State Valkyries

• Bench unit to finish first quarter: Ty Harris, Sophie Cunningham, and Makayla Timpson came into the game down 10 five minutes in, tasked with getting the Fever back in the game. And they did. Harris sank a 3-pointer early, then Cunningham sank another, and their collective defense kept the Valkyries uncomfortable to go on a 16-8 run over the final five minutes and get Fever back within two points by the end of the first quarter.
• The third quarter (at times): Indiana came out of halftime down 10, but they started to fight back. Throughout part of the third, the Fever went on a 17-4 run -- which included Caitlin Clark stealing the ball, missing the 3-point shot, getting her own rebound, and doing a behind-the-back spin pass to Aliyah Boston, who sunk the 3-pointer -- to take the lead. Immediately after the Fever took the lead, however, Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen went on a heater, scoring 10 points in the final two minutes to cap off a 12-4 Golden State run and take a seven-point lead into the fourth.

What I didn't like in Indiana Fever's loss vs Golden State Valkyries

• Down big early: The Valkyries have the No. 1 defense in the league, and they showed that early with a 12-2 run to start the game. The Fever could not get anything to fall because of Golden State's stifling defensive game, and couldn't defend Golden State's 4-of-9 start from the field. Stephanie White took a timeout four minutes into the game to stop the bleeding, and the bench unit came in to get the Fever back into the game.
• Caitlin Clark limping and furious: Caitlin Clark was furious at the refs after she thought she got fouled by Kiah Stokes on a layup with five minutes left in the second quarter. Clark fell to the ground near the stanchion and got up limping, gesturing toward the refs and running slowly back on defense. At the next dead ball, she immediately swung her fist and went up to a referee, clapping her hands in their face. She continued to swear at the referee until Sophie Cunningham got in between them, then went up to the ref that was talking to Stephanie White and talked at her too. Through all of that, Clark (somehow) did not get a tech, and she briefly walked back into the Fever hallway before returning to the bench. She did not play the rest of the rest of the quarter.
• Allowing Kaitlyn Chen to have a great game: This is the second time this season that the Fever have allowed Kaitlyn Chen to get essentially whatever she wants on the offensive end of the floor. Just after Indiana got its first lead of the game, Chen, coming off the bench, scored 10 straight points for the Valkyries, blowing by Indiana's defense and putting Golden State up by seven going into the fourth quarter. That stretch sullied any momentum the Fever had,

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What the Indiana Fever's loss to Golden State Valkyries means

The biggest issue with the Fever, as I wrote after their dominant win over the Las Vegas Aces, is that they are not a consistent team. They showed that tonight. They beat the best team in the league by 34 just three days ago, but did not look like that team at all on Wednesday night. Yes, this loss was against the No. 1 defense in the league, but the Fever successfully limited the Aces' four-time MVP and three-time Defensive Player of the Year A'ja Wilson. Indiana has the talent to be a contender in the WNBA, but they are not consistent enough in applying that talent when they need to.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark beat by WNBA's best defense in return home

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