Indiana Fever at Seattle Storm
· Women's National Basketball AssociationJewell Loyd scores 32 before sellout of 18,000, Seattle holds off Caitlin Clark and Fever 85-83
Jewell Loyd scored 21 of her 32 points in the first half, Sami Whitcomb scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter, and the Seattle Storm held off Clark and the Fever 85-83 on Wednesday night, two days after Indiana's 88-84 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
“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, last year’s leading scorer in the WNBA, shook off a sluggish start to the season to post the 22nd 30-point game of her career. Loyd and Whitcomb combined for 18 of Seattle’s 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Storm (2-3) needed all those points to hold off a late rally 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.
Clark finished with a team-high 21 points two days after rolling her left ankle in the home loss to Connecticut. She struggled early against Seattle, but sparked a third-quarter rally and helped give the Fever a 60-58 lead going into the fourth.
While most of the sellout crowd of 18,343 — the largest for a game in Seattle — wore the green and gold of the Storm, there was a healthy smattering of Indiana and Iowa No. 22 jerseys and shirts for Clark.
The third quarter was a stretch where she looked like the Clark everyone came to know collegiately at Iowa when she was the national player of the year.
“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.”
Seattle led by as many as seven early in the fourth quarter. Clark’s three free throws with 1:50 left pulled the Fever within 79-77, but Seattle got baskets from Jordan Horston and Ezi Magbegor on consecutive possessions.
The final minute was filled with debated calls and multiple officials' reviews. The Fever pulled within 84-83 after two free throws by Clark. Seattle committed a turnover with 11 seconds left, giving Indiana a chance to win.
Clark stumbled after the inbound pass and a jump ball with 4.7 seconds left between Aliyah Boston and Horston was tipped to Nneka Ogwumike, who hit one of two free throws. Indiana was out of timeouts and could only get Boston’s desperation attempt at the buzzer that was off line.
Ogwumike added 22 points after missing the past two games with an ankle injury.
“Today was one of those days where I knew I had to push through some things,” Ogwumike said. “I just pride myself on being efficient in every way.”
Clark put on a show the last time she was in the building during the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament when she helped lead Iowa to the Final Four, including a triple-double in the regional final.
On Wednesday, Clark missed her first four shots before scoring on a baseline drive early in the second quarter. Her first 3-pointer didn’t come until midway through the third quarter and she finished 6 of 16 shooting, including 2 for 8 from behind the arc.
Seattle rookie Nika Muhl made her debut for Seattle after missing the first four games of the season due to visa issues. Muhl checked in late in the third quarter to a rousing ovation, only to see Clark knock down a 3 over her.
UP NEXT
Fever: At Los Angeles on Friday.
Storm: Hosts Washington on Saturday.
Regular Season Series
SEA wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
4th 0.0 | End of Game | 83 - 85 | |
4th 0.0 | End of the 4th Quarter | 83 - 85 | |
4th 0.0 | Fever offensive team rebound | 83 - 85 | |
4th 0.0 | Aliyah Boston misses 48-foot three point pullup jump shot | 83 - 85 | |
4th 2.1 | Nneka Ogwumike makes free throw 2 of 2 | 83 - 85 |
Statistics
IND | SEA | |
---|---|---|
31-72 | FG | 34-82 |
43.1 | Field Goal % | 41.5 |
6-22 | 3PT | 6-20 |
27.3 | Three Point % | 30.0 |
15-18 | FT | 11-13 |
83.3 | Free Throw % | 84.6 |
40 | Rebounds | 41 |
13 | Offensive Rebounds | 17 |
27 | Defensive Rebounds | 24 |
18 | Assists | 20 |
5 | Steals | 6 |
8 | Blocks | 9 |
11 | Turnovers | 8 |
2 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
13 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
11 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 6 |
9 | Fast Break Points | 7 |
50 | Points in Paint | 46 |
17 | Fouls | 16 |
4 | Largest Lead | 11 |
Game Information
Location: Seattle, WA
Attendance: 18,343 · Capacity:
2023-24 Eastern Conference Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York | - | 8 | L1 | 0.8 | 32 |
Connecticut | 4 | 12 | W1 | 0.7 | 28 |
Indiana | 12 | 20 | L1 | 0.5 | 20 |
Atlanta | 17 | 25 | W3 | 0.375 | 15 |
Washington | 18 | 26 | W1 | 0.35 | 14 |
Chicago | 19 | 27 | L5 | 0.325 | 13 |
WNBA News
Curt Miller out as head coach of WNBA's Sparks after 2 seasons
Curt Miller, who had a 25-55 record and did not make the playoffs in his two seasons with Los Angeles, is out as head coach of the Sparks, the team said.
Fever's Caitlin Clark says eye poke unintentional, 'feels good'
Fever star Caitlin Clark dismissed any notion of intent after getting poked in the eye in Game 1 of their playoff series vs. the Sun, saying "just watch the play."
Why Caitlin Clark will 'rise to the moment' in playoffs
Ryan Ruocco joins "NBA Today" to discuss Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever's first-round matchup vs. the Connecticut Sun.
WNBA mock draft 2025: Which team will pick Paige Bueckers?
The lottery likely isn't until December, and the league hasn't announced draft plans for Golden State. Paige Bueckers and Kiki Iriafen could go 1-2.
Minnesota hosts Phoenix with 1-0 series lead
Phoenix Mercury (19-21, 10-10 Western Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (30-10, 14-6 Western Conference)