Caitlin Clark assigns blame after Fever's first loss of season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated May 21, 2025 12:11 AM ET

Caitlin Clark did all she could to help the Indiana Fever compete against Brittney Griner and the Atlanta Dream.

Clark finished the game against Atlanta with 27 points, five rebounds and 11 assists. While she had a phenomenal game, the Fever couldn't get over the hump, losing to the Dream 91-90.

After the game, Clark spoke on the Fever's struggles. She mentioned that Indiana benefited from an incredible atmosphere, but they simply couldn't execute.

"Crowd was incredible," Clark said, per Dominic Miranda. "We missed free throws, layups, didn’t execute."

In terms of free throws, which Clark pointed out as a major issue for Indiana, the Fever shot an abysmal 61.5% from the charity stripe.

Caitlin Clark after 91-90 loss:

“You just can’t dig yourself a hole like that in this league. I thought we had a bad start to the game and a bad start to the second half. Just a little flat.”

“Crowd was incredible. We missed free throws, layups, didn’t execute.”@WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/7C57avimV5
— Dominic Miranda (@DomMirandaTV) May 21, 2025

Caitlin Clark also explained that the Indiana Fever dug themselves into a hole and seemingly struggled to find consistency against the Atlanta Dream.

"You just can’t dig yourself a hole like that in this league," Clark said. "I thought we had a bad start to the game and a bad start to the second half. Just a little flat."

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have a chance to bounce back from their loss to the Atlanta Dream on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Fever started the season with a 93-58 win over Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.

They seemed to be the most dominant team in the WNBA, with arguably the deepest roster, but Brittney Griner, Rhyne Howard and company were too much for the Fever to handle in their first matchup of the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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