On a night where the Indiana Fever were expected to bounce back, the story took a different turn. With acting head coach Austin Kelly at the helm, who helped lead the team’s June 7 win over the Chicago Sky, fans walked into the June 19 matchup against the Golden State Valkyries with optimism.
Instead, they witnessed another stinging loss as the Fever fell 88-77, marking their sixth defeat this season. Moreover, in the post-game press conference, veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell made it clear that this loss wasn’t on one player, Caitlin Clark.
Kelsey Mitchell Wasn’t Happy With Her Fever Teammates’ Efforts
Speaking candidly, Mitchell didn’t hesitate to call out what she saw as the real issue: A lack of collective effort from the entire Fever team.
“Overall, it’s not about just Caitlin specifically,” Mitchell during the press conference in a video released by the Fever. “I thought it was about our entire group. We were soft. We just weren’t. They made us pay by just being stronger, being tougher. 50-50 balls, deflections, getting the passing lanes.
“There’s just a piece of just being aggressive and having an ability to look at our best player and be like, ‘Nah, they’re going to be aggressive,'” Mitchell said. “And I think that we allowed it.
“We kind of tucked our tail a little bit tonight on the aggression side,” she said. “I think that’s our downplay right now. We have to learn how to see wrongs from they is. That’s one thing. But be aggressive and stop being so soft. And I think that as a group, we just collectively allow too much.”
The game was a tale of two halves. The Fever came out strong, ending the first quarter with a solid nine-point lead and leading by six at halftime.
The second half told a different story. The Valkyries found their rhythm and flipped the game’s momentum, culminating in a 33-point fourth-quarter explosion that left the Fever scrambling.
There also were some lingering tensions from the Fever’s previous outing on June 17 against the Connecticut Sun. That game turned chaotic, with multiple physical altercations, most notably involving Clark and Sophie Cunningham.
Despite the bruises, Clark appeared composed against the Valkyries, scoring 11 points. Mitchell herself chipped in with 16. Even with both players contributing on the scoreboard, it wasn’t nearly enough to match Golden State’s late-game surge.
Now the Fever face another formidable challenge as they prepare to go on the road and take on the Las Vegas Aces on June 22 at T-Mobile Arena.
