This is interesting.
Stephanie White Responds After Caitlin Clark and Fever 'Struggled' With Coaching Instructions originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
What was supposed to be a momentum-shifting return for Caitlin Clark following a five-game absence turned into an embarrassing blowout loss for the Indiana Fever.
The Fever entered Wednesday's home game against the Golden State Valkyries with high hopes as they welcomed Clark back from a two-week injury absence. That all came crashing down, however, after the Valkyries made easy work of Indiana in what turned out to be a dominant 80-61 win for the road team.
In her return, Clark finished with just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Rust was clearly an issue for the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year after missing an extended period due to a lingering groin injury.
It wasn't just her conditioning that was an issue for Clark, though. After the game, the 23-year-old revealed that she "struggled" with the instructions from the coaching staff.
“I thought we played with energy in the first five minutes, and then when they kind of went on their first run, it deflated us a little bit, which I'm not really sure why,” Clark said, via Chloe Peterson of IndyStar.
“But the offense, I think for us, it starts on defense, and we struggled scouting report wise, we struggled personnel. We struggled to do what the coaches asked of us."
Clark highlighted the team's lack of knowledge about their opponents, which, according to her, is related to the scouting report.
Head coach Stephanie White was asked to comment on the said issues and how the Fever, as Clark said, "struggled (with) personnel."
“With the exception of about two five-minute spurts, our attention to detail was poor,” White said. “I’m not sure if it’s not knowing the game plan as much, because if it's not knowing the game plan, then that's a whole other conversation, as much as not executing the game plan.
"Our attention to detail, undisciplined, you know, I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that's disappointing.”
It's hard to deny that the Fever were out of sorts on the court in this one. And, as made evident by the postgame comments from Clark and White, it seems that they weren't on the same page off the court either.
Related: Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin Show Mutual Love After Valkyires Blow Out Fever
Related: Fever Coach Stephanie White Expresses Uncertainty About Player on Temporary Leave
Related: How Many Times Did Caitlin Clark Pass on Angel Reese in WNBA All-Star Draft?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
