Late-game miscues cost Fever victory in close game with Seattle Storm

SEATTLE — Multiple fourth-quarter miscues gave Indiana a 85-83 loss to Seattle on Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Fever had a chance down one point with 10.3 seconds left after head coach Christie Sides successfully challenged a jump ball. Fever rookie Caitlin Clark caught the ball out of the inbound, but she was swarmed by opposing players and could barely get the ball out to Aliyah Boston. Seattle then swarmed Boston, forcing a jump ball. The Storm won the ball, and free-throw shots sealed a Seattle victory.

The loss dropped the Fever to 0-5 on the season. They will head to Los Angeles for a matchup with the Sparks on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

Here are three observations:

Missed opportunities cost Fever victory

One of the things Sides has stressed to their team is the need to make stops in clutch moments. Their inability to make stops, as well as untimely fouls and turnovers, ultimately lost them an 88-84 game to the Sun on Monday.

It happened again on Wednesday.

The Fever consistently failed to get defensive rebounds in the fourth quarter against the Storm. It started with about nine minutes left in the game, as Victoria Vivians and Ezi Magbegor double-teamed Katie Lou Samuelson under the basket. Magbegor missed her shot, Vivians got the offensive rebound, missed her shot, leading to a second Magbegor offensive rebound and eventual basket.

The Storm’s Mercedes Russell grabbed an offensive rebound after Skylar Diggins-Smith missed a 3-pointer, and that led to Temi Fagbenle‘s fifth foul on the night. Fagbenle stayed in the game, but she had to play carefully for the final six minutes.

Sami Whitcomb stole the ball from Aliyah Boston with about four minutes left, then Kelsey Mitchell stepped out of bounds on an offensive possession a minute later. Combine that with the Storm’s tenacious defense in the final seconds, and the Fever didn’t have enough to win the game.

Fever make change to starting lineup

There was a new face in the Fever’s starting lineup for the third time this season, as head coach Christie Sides replaced small forward Katie Lou Samuelson with guard Kristy Wallace.

Wallace played 24 minutes off the bench on Monday against the Connecticut Sun, going 4-of-7 from the field, while Samuelson played 15 minutes.

There are multiple possible reasons Sides could have decided to make the change: Seattle has three strong guards in Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd, and Victoria Vivians in its starting lineup, and Wallace would matchup up better size-wise. Wallace also gives the Fever another possible ball-handler, as she is able to run the point and play the 1-3 positions.

Wallace ended up playing 23 minutes with five points, four rebounds, and three assists on Wednesday night. Samuelson played 15 minutes with five points and two rebounds.

Storm’s Jewell Loyd takes over first half

The Fever kept pace with the Storm through the first five minutes of the game, going into the first timeout down, 13-12. Then, with the Fever’s NaLyssa Smith and Caitlin Clark out of the game, Storm All-Star Jewell Loyd took over.

Scoring 12 points in the first 10 minutes alone, Loyd spurred the Storm on a 12-4 run through the end of the quarter.

No Fever player, including Kristy Wallace, Kelsey Mitchell, and Erica Wheeler, had an answer for Loyd, as she effortlessly shot over them for jumpers. At halftime, she had 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, as well as nine rebounds.

Loyd finished the game with 32 points.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

Caitlin Clark scored 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range. She also went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line, and added on seven rebounds and seven assists.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Missed opportunities cost Indiana Fever potential victory over Storm