Fever Outhustled by Valkyries in Caitlin Clark’s Return From Injury……
Golden State bottled up the Indiana superstar in her much-anticipated return to the court, writes Jannelle Moore.
After missing the previous five games due to a groin injury, Caitlin Clark returned to the court Wednesday afternoon as the Indiana Fever played host to the Golden State Valkyries.
Before this extended absence, Indiana’s superstar guard was battling a slump — shooting a shocking 19.1% from deep in her past four games. The Valkyries in particular gave her trouble recently, holding her to a season-worst shooting performance (3-for-14, 21.4%) on June 19.
But when it comes to returning to form in the first game back from injury, expectation seldom meets reality. The expectation might have been that Clark was going to put on a show, break out of her slump, and lead the Fever to a win at home.
The reality was anything but. Golden State cruised to a 80-61 win and ruined Clark’s return.
Minutes restriction lite
Clark is not a fan of minutes restrictions, and rightly so. However, it’s safe to say that the Fever played it safe by holding her to 25 minutes. Indiana head coach Stephanie White limited Clark’s first-half minutes regardless of any objections. Clark was pulled earlier than usual in the first quarter, and she ended the first half playing only 13 minutes.
Clark seemed to move as did prior to the injury. She was spry and crisp. Indiana pushed the pace in her minutes on the floor. The Fever scored 10 fast-break points as a result, and Clark’s six assists was a contributing factor.
Clark’s performance Wednesday was pedestrian overall, and the Fever did not have the appropriate energy at times against Golden State.
