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Caitlin Clark, Fever fall to Liberty in controversial ending
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are off and running in the 2nd WNBA season for the former Iowa superstar. So far, the Fever have been extremely competitive in every game, but they dropped a thriller on Saturday.
The game featured Indiana facing off with the New York Liberty, the reigning WNBA champs with a star-loaded roster that includes Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, among others. The Fever went down to the wire, even as Clark struggled from deep in the game, but wound up losing, 90-88.
New York did alternate defenders throughout, throwing multiple looks at Clark all game long. It led to a 2-for-12 effort from 3-point range for Clark, but she added another double-double on the season with 18 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds.
Clark now has a double-double in 3 of her 4 games played to start the season, including a triple-double in the season opener. However, the struggles from 3-point range stung in this one, leading all the way up to a controversial finish.
The first controversial call came within the final 10 seconds with the game tied and Ionescu trying to get to the bucket. Her drive to the hoop led to a foul being called on Indiana, though replays appeared to show Ionescu initiating the contact into an upright Indiana defender.
The Fever did not challenge the foul call, and Ionescu drained both free throws for the 90-88 lead:
With less than 5 seconds remaining, the Fever would get one final play, and they were able to inbound the ball to Clark at the top of the key. She tried to get a potential game-winning 3 off, but had the ball knocked away.
Clark and the Fever clearly wanted a foul, and it looked like the defender may have gone through Clark’s body to get to the ball, but it was ultimately how the game ended.
It’s a disappointing result for the Fever, but it’s another good sign of the overall growth for the team. After a 20-20 record and trip to the playoffs last season, the roster should be in a condition to compete with every team on the schedule this year.
Clark is also the current leader to take home her first WNBA MVP Award in just her 2nd season in the league and is listed at -115 at FanDuel. Napheesa Collier at +160 is the next closest player this early in the season, and fans can grab the top offers with the Ohio sports betting promos.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.