Caitlin Clark’s Scores 21, But That Was Not Enough As The Fever Drop Fifth Straight

The question of when Caitlin Clark will win her first WNBA game watch continues. The Indiana Fever came close in Seattle but ultimately lost to the Seattle Storm 85-83.

In front of 18,343 fans, the largest crowd in Seattle Storm history watched the Storms Jewell Loyd score 21 of her 32 points in the first half, and Sami Whitcomb added all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Storm narrowly defeated the Fever.

Clark, who finished with a team-high 21 points, played just two days after rolling her left ankle in a home loss to Connecticut. Despite a slow start, she sparked a third-quarter rally that gave the Fever a 60-58 lead heading into the fourth.

"It’s a process of learning when to be assertive, but it's hard when you start a little cold," Clark said afterward. "I think that’s when I’m at my best, when I’m aggressive and creating my own shot … the more I can play with pace, that’s when I’m successful."

“These two definitely hurt the most. We’re what, six points away from being 2-3 instead of 0-5,” Clark said. “It’s just that close and there’s so many instances going back and watching the film and little things you can easily fix and clean up that would go a really long way.”

Loyd, the WNBA's leading scorer last season, overcame a slow start to this season by recording the 22nd 30-point game of her career. Loyd and Whitcomb combined for 18 of Seattle's 27 fourth-quarter points, helping the Storm (2-3) fend off a late surge and keep the Fever (0-5) winless.

“I just kind of cleared my head. I was in a good headspace coming into today’s game. … I just kind of reset and changed my routine a little bit and then caught a little rhythm,” Loyd said.

“It’s still a process of learning when to be assertive,” Clark said. “Sometimes it’s hard when you start off a little bit cold.”

Clark and the Fevers' next chance at a win will come on Friday night in Los Angeles against the 2-1 Sparks. After that, the Fever head to Las Vegas for a game against the two-time defending champs, the Las Vegas Aces, on Saturday night—talk about a brutal back-to-back for Clark and the Fever.