After missing the last five games for the Indiana Fever, including the win of the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup final against the Minnesota Lynx, Caitlin Clark returned to the starting lineup. However, her performance was once again disappointing, finishing with 10 points and six assists in 25 minutes as the Fever suffered an 80-61 loss to the Golden State Valkyries-a team Indiana has failed to beat in both of their meetings this season.
The 19-point defeat matches the Fever’s largest margin of loss this season. On the bright side, Clark is back, and hopefully she won’t miss any more games, as she has already been sidelined for half of Indiana’s matchups so far this year. Despite her limited availability, Clark was still selected as a captain for the upcoming All-Star Game-though, to be fair, that’s more of a popularity contest, and there’s no question she remains the most popular player in the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark’s Football Flair Shocks Teammates
It was known that Clark would return for this game, especially after she looked very active and showed good mobility during the team’s pregame practices. But not only that-she was also seen throwing passes as she traded the basketball for a football and showed fans another weapon in her arsenal. She launched a perfect spiral that soared deep into the stands, about six rows up, leaving both teammates and fans in awe.
Clark is a football fan-more specifically, a Chiefs fan and a big admirer of Patrick Mahomes. She has even attended a few Chiefs games alongside Taylor Swift. A few months ago, while promoting an NFL campaign tied to the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its debut, Clark shared that she always wanted to play football as a kid, but as a woman, the opportunity just wasn’t there.
It would be great if the Mahomes family or Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift could attend one of Clark’s games with the Fever this season. Maybe they’ll show up for the playoffs-if the Fever make it-because the team has been mediocre so far, with a 9-10 record and no three-game winning streak all season.
Road Ahead: Can Clark Turn It Around?
The silver lining? We’re just hitting the season’s midpoint, giving the Fever plenty of runway to improve. Last year, Clark’s rookie peak came post-All-Star break, and there’s hope for a repeat. Injuries have disrupted her rhythm-five games missed earlier, then five more recently-especially after a slump where she hit just 5 of 29 three-pointers (17.24%) over four games, including a six-point dud against Seattle.
Now, the focus shifts to Friday’s clash with the Atlanta Dream, a top team that’s beaten Indiana twice in three meetings this season. Then, on Sunday, it’s a showdown with Paige Bueckers, pitting the last two No. 1 overall picks against each other.
Clark missed their first WNBA matchup in Dallas (a 94-86 Fever win), where Bueckers dropped 27 points despite the loss. Their college battles-UConn’s 92-72 rout in the 2021 Sweet 16 and Iowa’s 71-69 thriller in the 2024 Final Four-set the stage for a classic. Let’s hope Clark’s back in top form, as Bueckers is rolling despite her team’s struggles.
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