Indiana fails to take care of ball on the road, drops to 0-3 against Storm

SEATTLE — Indiana couldn’t take care of the ball Thursday night, leading to a 89-77 loss to the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena.

Indiana (7-12) will head to Phoenix to play the Mercury for the first time this season on Sunday.

Here are three observations:

Temi Fagbenle returns from injury, gives Fever frontcourt depth

With Fever forward Temi Fagbenle out with a foot injury for 11 games, Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith held down the fort as the Fever’s only true bigs − Katie Lou Samuelson and Lexie Hull could stretch to play the 4 or the 5, they both naturally sit at the 3.

Those 11 games came with increased minutes − nearly full-game minutes − for Boston and Smith. It also meant that it was a struggle for the Fever to change defensive assignments in the post when some matchups weren’t working.

Fagbenle is back and her presence as a floor-stretching forward gave the Fever some depth. Fagbenle, who made her way into the starting lineup before she was injury, is on a minutes restriction, so she came off the bench.

Still, she provided the Fever with an option as Boston struggled early. Boston couldn’t get her shot to fall (3-of-12 by the end of the third quarter). Fagbenle made her first four shots and had four rebounds going into the fourth.

Fagbenle finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.

Poked eye aside, Jewell Loyd torches Fever

A poke in the eye wasn’t going to stop Seattle Storm All-Star Jewell Loyd.

The Fever couldn’t stop Loyd at all in the first quarter − she had 15 points in 9 minutes, shooting 4-of-5 from the field (3-of-4 from 3-point range), helping the Storm to an early double-digit lead.

Loyd left the game for a short time, though, after Fever guard Lexie Hull inadvertently poked her in the eye with 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter. While Loyd was in obvious pain, she shot the free throws so she could return to the game. Then, she immediately gave up a foul to exit, and went back to the locker room.

Loyd was out for about 5 minutes of the second quarter, and the Fever had a 7-2 run to cut their deficit to three points. It seemed as if the Fever were gaining momentum − the Storm’s best player was out, and Indiana was working through its offensive schemes.

Loyd checked back into the game halfway through the second quarter, and Seattle found its touch again. Loyd scored eight more points in her 5-minute stint in the second, and that pushed Seattle’s lead to 14 by halftime.

Loyd, who was primarily guarded by Fever guards Kristy Wallace and Lexie Hull, finished with 32 points.

Turnovers plague Fever offense

In some cases, the Storm’s height was too much for the Fever.

Storm 6-6 forward Mercedes Russell battled both Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith in the paint, hoping to catch some post-entry passes from their Fever teammates. In multiple cases, she did. Whether it was an ill-timed pass or a good jump from Russell, she easily grabbed the ball, pushing the Storm back down toward their basket.

Russell ended up with three steals, but the Fever’s overhead passes were consistently stolen by taller Storm players. Four Storm players had more than one steal, and they knew how to capitalize.

The Fever had 10 turnovers by the end of the first half, and the Storm turned them into 15 points. Indiana’s 22 total turnovers became 27 points for Seattle.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score against the Seattle Storm?

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark had 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. She also had six turnovers.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark lose to Seattle Storm, Jewell Loyd