Caitlin Clark had a tough night on Saturday as she managed to score just 6 points during the Indiana Fever’s blowout loss to the Portland Fire.
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White has now revealed why Clark was substituted out at the halfway mark of the first quarter, which allowed the Fire to go on a dominant run.
Stephanie White Explains Caitlin Clark’s Substitution in Loss to Portland Fire
Clark endured one of her worst outings since being drafted into the WNBA on Saturday as she went 1-for-7 from the field for just 6 points in 22 minutes. This marked only the seventh single-digit scoring game of the 24-year-old’s three-year career in the WNBA. Despite her scoring woes, Clark did dish out 6 assists and also had 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
After the Fever fell to a second straight defeat, White defended her decision to sub off both Clark and Aliyah Boston at the halfway mark in the first quarter, which allowed the Fire to take control of the game. The Fever never really recovered despite a fourth-quarter fightback, falling to their fourth loss of the season.
“AB is still in a minutes restriction, so that’s why she’s coming out, and that’s typically around the same time that we’ve taken Caitlin out before. We didn’t in Golden State because, quite honestly, we didn’t want Raven in that environment without another ball handler on the floor, but that’s been our typical substitution pattern,” she said (via journalist Chloe Peterson).
It remains to be seen whether White will look to change her substitution pattern following this loss and keep Clark in the first quarters of games longer.
Clark’s rough night in Portland came on the back of her underwhelming showing against the Golden State Valkyrie on Thursday, when she scored 16 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field.
This rough spell comes as Clark looks to return to her best after a recent back issue. Every performance of the Iowa alum is heavily scrutinized as she is one of the WNBA’s top stars and someone who has brought a lot of eyes to the league.
Back-to-back defeats have seen the Indiana Fever drop to ninth overall in the WNBA standings. The Fever have a 4-4 overall record and will next be in action against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday before heading to New York to face the New York Liberty.
It’s time for the Fever to fire coach White