Fever progress
To argue that Caitlin Clark was not doing well three-quarters into the Fever’s set-to the other day would be an understatement. She had been on the court for 27 of 30 possible minutes, and a quick glance at her underwhelming stat line was all casual observers needed to understand why they were trailing by seven. It didn’t matter that the Lynx missed the services of Most Valuable Player candidate Napheesa Collier. They were being outplayed by the hosts and seemed to be well on their way to absorbing their 15th setback in 25 matches.
For some reason, however, the Fever looked — or, to be precise, were — altogether different in the payoff period. And, not surprisingly, Clark headed the rally. Perhaps the short rest she got between quarters enabled her to ease the tension she had hitherto been displaying in the face of extremely physical guarding by the Lynx. Perhaps the capacity crowd of 18,978 at Target Center, supposedly the Lynx’s, was mostly on her side and spurred her to get her groove back. In any case, two minutes was all the blue and red required to tie the set-to, and another five minutes and change to claim the lead for good.
Make no mistake. The Fever had to scratch and claw until the final buzzer, and their triumph was due to a collective effort. If anything, it can be contended that Fellow All-Stars Aliyah Boston and Kelly Mitchell, as well as Katie Lou Samuelson, had bigger contributions than Clark’s. That said, there can be no denying that she stepped up exactly when needed. Not for nothing did she wind up with 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists in the final canto. And there was, of course, her mere presence, which kept the defense more on her and less on those around her.
The Fever were upbeat in the aftermath, and with reason. No doubt, it was because trumping the Lynx, counted among the best of the best in the WNBA, underscored their continued rise. Juxtaposed with their victory over the league-leading Liberty the other weekend, their latest achievement spoke volumes of their remarkable progress following a brutal start to the season. As for Clark herself, the bottom line was what counted most. Onward and upward.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.