The Fever have been on a roll since returning from the Olympic break and have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
They have proven their ability to cause damage against top teams, making Indiana a hot pick to have a deep playoff run.
However, Friday’s game against the No. 2 Lynx, who have also gone 7-1 since returning from the month-long break, damped spirits and it saw Caitlin Clark’s contagious passion as he became too focused on the officials during a difficult stretch.
And the rookie sensation believed she could have handled it better
It was a tight game that saw Indiana lead by five at the half, but the advantage didn’t last long after the Lynx went on a 29-12 run.
Focus shifted more towards the officials and the lack of foul calls for the Fever, which resulted in Aliyah Boston, who earned her third technical of the season in the third quarter, and Clark getting on the referees.
The Lynx went on to win 99-88 and Clark admitted it wasn’t her best showing nor a great example to her teammates as she toed the line between playing with emotion and playing emotionally.
“I think there’s definitely a line,” Clark told reporters after the game. “I was frustrated and thought I got fouled a couple times in the second half on mid-range jump shots. It happens. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t. It is what it is… I think I could have done a little bit better job controlling my own emotions.
“I think there’s a line and sometimes your passion, your emotion can get to you, but that’s not something I would ever change or anybody on our team would ever change.”
Clark, who scored 25 points, scrambled in the second half to find fouls, pulling up often at midrange to hopefully force a call.
She also committed seven turnovers in the game, two of which were in the second half, and the No. 1 overall pick even laid down on the court in frustration after her shot was blocked.
On the following possession, the Lynx scored and took a double-digit lead.
The Fever, who look to Clark as a leader, played like the young, inexperienced team they were at the start of the season.
“She’s just so passionate,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said. “Her competitive spirit, it reminds me of a Diana Taurasi. She’s that. So, when she’s upset or mad — that’s what we’ve been working on, trying to figure out how to get past those moments.
“She’s got to learn that, in those moments, I need my point guard to have a cool head, get us in whatever we need to be in offensively and if it’s not a foul call that you thought, you have to get back,” Sides continued. “We’re working on those things. That’s what a young team, that’s what you do is you try to talk about these moments, watch them on video, show them where ‘This just can’t happen because it caused this, this and this.’
“There’s a reaction to all of our actions and we have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a worse spot with those kind of moments.”
The Fever have the chance to learn from their mistake first on Sunday against the Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before two big games against the two-time defending champion Aces on Wednesday and Friday.
Five games remain for Indiana before the playoffs where they could face the Lynx in the higher stakes environment, or other Eastern Conference foes such as the Liberty and the Sun, who have also claimed playoff spots.
The WNBA playoffs begin on Sept. 22.
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