When Indiana Fever star and No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut four months ago, she turned the ball over 10 times in an ugly 21-point loss to the Connecticut Sun. Her playoff debut against the same opponent on Sunday wasn't any better, as the Fever lost Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, 93-69.
Clark took care of the ball this time, but finished with just 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting overall, including 2 of 12 from behind the arc, and was left with a black eye after an inadvertent hit to the face in the opening minutes.
"Obviously got me pretty good in the eye," Clark said. "I don't think it affected me. I felt like I got good shots, they just didn't go down. Obviously a tough time for that to happen."
The Fever were the best offensive team in the league after the Olympics by a wide margin. They boasted a 109.6 offensive rating, made nearly 11 3-pointers per game and had a 58.2 true shooting percentage. Most of that stemmed from Clark's ability to push the pace and control the game. She averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 assists after the break, as she surged to a fourth-place MVP finish.
Already, Clark has staked her claim as the best guard in the league. But the playoffs are a different beast, and the Fever are going up against the league's best defensive unit. The combination of postseason nerves and a tough, physical, experienced opponent led to one of the worst outings of the season for the Fever.
Their 69 points were tied for their third fewest of the season, and their 21.4% mark from 3 was their second-worst in that category. Ironically, the one thing that has been their biggest issue on offense -- turnovers -- was a non-factor, as they had just 13.
The good news for Clark and the Fever was that they actually generated good looks, especially before the break. "I had three pretty wide-open 3s in the first half that you usually make," Clark said. "So that's tough."
Indeed, whether on or off the ball, she was getting separation and taking rhythm shots. The final catch-and-shoot opportunity just before the half was about as open as she's been all season, and even that didn't go down.
Sometimes you miss shots, and there's not much you can do about that. What the Fever can control heading into Game 2 is their response to adversity. This was a frustrating game for them on a number of fronts, and as soon as the Sun went on a run in the third quarter, the Fever appeared to panic. They were playing one-on-one, rushing shots and turning it over.
"These guys are gonna shoot the ball a lot better on Wednesday, and that's gonna make a huge difference," Fever coach Christie Sides said. "The first three quarters we battled, I think we got rattled in the third a little bit when they started hitting some shots."
Clark wasn't the only one playing in her first playoff game. In fact, the entire starting lineup had never been in this environment. As a team, the Fever had just 19 games of playoff experience, the fewest of any group. Now that they've experienced the emotions and the crowd and the different whistle, they should be better equipped to handle it on Wednesday.
It won't be easy to beat a battle-tested Sun team on their home floor to stave off elimination, but the Fever believe they are capable.
"We can win," Clark said. "It's not anything about the building, it's not about the gym, it's not about the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team and everybody in our locker room does. I know we'll be a lot better on Wednesday."