The Indiana Fever had an abysmal start to the season losing their first five games. Then slowly and steadily, especially after the Olympic break, the Fever recovered and proved its mettle. Their core players, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Aliyah Boston, stood up for the team, losing just one out of the remaining 8 games. However, now that the Indianapolis team has confirmed a berth in the playoffs, their last regular season game at home gave them some necessary learnings.

The Fever took the court at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday when the Wings, in the first quarter, proved to be a tough team to tackle. Though the Fever started off well with a two-pointer by NaLyssa Smith, the Wings soon took the lead with Arike Ogunbowale’s three-pointer. From there on, it became a cat-and-mouse chase as both teams tried to outsmart each other. However, by the end of the first quarter, the Wings were placed at a solid 34 points compared to the Fever’s 26.

This notably was the most points given by the Fever during the first quarter in any W game this season. The Wings star Jacy Sheldon stole the ball from Boston and also gave Clark a tough time. If that wasn’t enough, Ogunbowale outsmarted Clark & Co. with her pull-up jumpers and assists. And Clark had to be out of the game after Temi Fagbenle replaced her. in the final 3:13 minutes. This once again proved after their last two games against the Aces that though the Fever had found their form and chemistry, it wasn’t impossible to dominate them. And this was a shocker considering that they are just 2 games away from the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark & Co. had expressed happiness on making it to the playoffs 

The Fever qualified for the playoffs early in September as they were ranked at the sixth spot in the WNBA. They accomplished their goal of making it to the elimination series for the first time since 2016. Clark was applauded by many for creating open spaces for her teammates, considering she is always looked out by her opponents in an attempt to control her. Nonetheless, the playoffs had come due to losses sustained by the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream to the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury, respectively.

Taking note of the on-song performances and the playoff berth, their head coach Sides had, in a locker room speech, opined that they had “nothing to prove” and only keep on bettering the “bigger picture for what we want to do.” Looks like Sides gained a lot of confidence in her team since they made it to the elimination series, just in her second year.

But perhaps, now the Fever would like to introspect once again after they are having a difficult time. Hopefully, going into the playoffs, it won’t be a problem for the team, and they will give their best performances whenever demanded.