Fever Lose as Stewie, Liberty Ruin Home Opener; The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Game 2

Fever Lose as "Stewie", Liberty Ruin Home Opener; 

The Great, Good, Bad, & Ugly of Game 2

 By Deon Cash Caitlyn Clark

The Indiana Fever have Caitlyn Clark and while she is becoming the new face of the franchise and league, there will be some bumps on the road. 

One of those major bumps was the reigning WNBA Eastern Conference Champions in the New York Liberty.

While the Fever battled the entire evening, the Liberty went on a devastating run in the 4th quarter to seal the deal and send the Fever to 0-2 on the early season.

Led by MVP Breanna Stewart, Star G Sabrina Ionescu and former all-star F-C Jonquel Jones, the Liberty jumped out to a 48-31 lead at half.

In the 3rd quarter the Fever fought back, led by Aliyah Boston, who had 15 points & 7 rebounds on the night to lead Indiana. 

The Fever would cut it to a 11-point lead heading into the final quarter. However the Liberty would dominate the final quarter and leave no doubt, sending the sold out Gainbridge Fever faithful waiting for Clark's first win as a Fever guard.

Clark would score 9 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists on the night.  

Here are the great, good, bad, and ugly about the game vs New York  

THE GREAT 

A sold out Arena (over 17,000) for the Indiana Fever means bigger revenue, bigger games and more energy each and every night...Katie Lou Samuelson was nearly perfect from the field (4-5 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG)...Grace Berger dropped 7pts in 7 min and made a impact...The energy was electric for the home opener and a few stars were in the building. 

THE GOOD

Despite missing some shots, Aliyah Boston was much more aggressive in this game, which bodes well for the Fever moving forward...The bench oustcored Liberty bench 26-22...Despite falling down at half, the Fever battled and made it a game heading into 4th quarter against the Eastern Conference Champions (67-56)...G-F Lexy Hull made her debut. 

THE BAD 

The slow start happened for a 2nd straight game...The inability to get Clark or Boston in a rhythm for a 2nd straight game...The Fever overall shooting was subpar this game, shooting 37% for the game. 1st and 4th quarters hurt Fever for 2nd straight game. 

THE UGLY

The Fever were outrebounded 40-20, with Jones and Stewart each grabbing 10 rebounds each...The hustle stats were alarming, with New York dominating 2nd chance points (29-5), fast break points (16-2) & points in the paint (48-28)...The 4th quarter the Fever were outscored 35-10....Rookie G-F Celeste Taylor did not play and was the only Fever player to not recieve any time. 

NEXT OPP: @NEW YORK 

The Fever will need to lick their wounds and get back to it, as they will head to New York to take on the Liberty in a home and home series.  The game is today and Indiana needs to mentally shake off the last quarter as they face the talented squad on their home court. 

Fever Fall In Season Opener; Clark Drops 20 in First Game

 Fever Fall In Season Opener; Clark Drops 20 in First Game; 

The GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY of 1st Game vs Connecticut 

By Deon Cash

Caitlin Clark, the lady who single-handedly has risen the WNBA in the marketing and showcase department, played in her first game in the WNBA last night, as the Indiana Fever played on the road against the Connecticut Sun.

The Sun, who were a playoff team last season, used a variety of defenses and schemes on Clark and Aliyah Boston, the Rookie of the Year from last season. Mix in arguably two of the top defenders in the W in Alyssa Thomas & DeWanna Bonner and the Fever had no chance in the season opener, falling 91-72.

The game was actually a 8-point game going into the final quarter, in which the Sun dominated in the 4th to seal the deal.

Bonner led the Sun in scoring with 20 points and Thomas did her usual, recording a triple-double with 13pts 10 reb,13 assists & 3 steals, as Connecticut had 5 players in double figures in a balanced effort. 

Clark, despite not scoring until halfway into the 2nd quarter, led the Fever with 20 points. NaLyssa Smith had a good game with 13 points and 9 rebounds.  Boston had only 6 points and 4 boards in the loss.

While Clark found the groove offensively in the 2nd half after getting 2 early fouls in the 1st quarter, her ball control was off, amassing 10 turnovers in her debut.

When asked about what was some of the issues that she had in the game, Clark responded. 

"The physicality, and some uncharacteristic stuff. I pick up the ball and travel, I dribble off my foot, so just a few things I need to clean up. Have to be crispier with my play." 

Here's our GOOD, BAD, & UGLY from the season opener. 

THE GOOD 

Clark responded after a tough 1st half to drop 20 in a subpar overall game....Nalyssa Smith continued to show why she will be a force in a breakout season....Despite the inefficiency with the ball, the Fever battled and showed heart until the 4th, when the Sun took over the game....Kelsey Mitchell made her debut with 8 points after missing the entire pre-season with a back injury....Erica Wheeler was 100% from the field, the line, and the 3....The Fever shot 48% from the field and the bench shot 66%. 

THE BAD 

The 1st quarter and the 4th quarter....The inability to get Boston the ball in offensive situations...Lexie Hull & Celeste Taylor getting a DNP. 

THE UGLY

The Fever had 25 Turnovers....Clark had 10 of them...The 4th quarter they were outscored 27-14...

WHATS NEXT?

The Fever will host the Eastern Conference Champions in the  New York Liberty on Thursday Night in the home season opener at 7pm ET.