Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White spoke at a press conference about why her team struggled during their match against the Atlanta Dream. The Indianapolis team suffered its third loss without its key player Caitlin Clark, after posting a final score of 77-58 in this early WNBA phase.
The head-to-head record between the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever is fairly even, with the Dream now scoring 31 wins and the Fever 26 in 57 games. The average points per game is also similar (80.48 for the Dream, 79.95 for the Fever), which predicted a close game. The last meeting ended with a 76-81 victory for the Indiana Fever at the home of Atlanta.
Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones led Atlanta
Among the Fever’s standout players who tried to prevent Atlanta from winning was Natasha Howard., who scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds, her first double-double of the season.
On the other hand, the Dream’s front line, comprised of Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones, proved to be too much. Griner scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and four rebounds, while Jones added 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds.
This is what Stephanie White had to say about the Indiana Fever’s loss:
After the game, White spoke to the media in her postgame press conference. When asked what went wrong in the third quarter, she said her team lacked physicality in the post. “Their physicality on defense really hurt us,” White said.
The head coach added that they have excellent post players. “They have Olympians on this roster, right? And I thought our ability to match that physicality on defense, our positioning, our connection, was not there, and they took advantage of it,” she stated.
Why hasn’t Caitlin Clark played for the Indiana Fever?
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will be out at least two weeks with a left quadriceps strain, the team announced Monday. Further updates on Clark will be provided after re-evaluation, the team said.
It’s worth remembering that Clark, who was named Rookie of the Year last year and was selected to the All-WNBA First Team, is currently averaging 19.0 points and 9.3 assists (a league-best) in four games this year.
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