It’s a pity we did not see more of Caitlin Clark vs Paige Bueckers this season. Only Bueckers was on the court in their last clash of the season, while Clark is still out with her right groin injury. Bueckers put on a show right out of the gate as she scored 5, assisted 3, and grabbed 3 boards. Dallas took a 23-15 lead in the first quarter, and the Fever couldn’t tip the scales since. Even with a late rally, the Wings ultimately ended up winning with just one point, and Bueckers finished with 16 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds.
However, according to Stephanie White and Sophie Cunningham, that performance was aided by the referees. “There’s a double standard there, certainly,” White said after the game. While Sophie had a more direct criticism of Bueckers, saying on a recent episode of “Show Me Something, “I think she’s a hell of a player and would love to play with her one day, but those refs were giving her every freaking whistle last night.” But this Indiana Fever teammate has another perspective on how they handled Bueckers.
Kelsey Mitchell told the media after their latest practice, “I think that we kind of like we took some gut punches early that you couldn’t afford to make up for in the end. Um, I think that anytime you have teams that you, you know, had some success against, you keep at it and you don’t give up. You don’t let your foot off the hook. And I think that you can’t allow great players like Paige Bueckers, Maddy Siegrist to even get comfortable. And I think that’s what happened.”
There is no question that Bueckers is among the best players in the league. She is averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game without much support in a struggling Dallas side. She was not alone in that last game as Maddy Siegrist announced her return from injury with a 22-point game. On the day, they were in their own and whether they got the ‘favorable whistle’ or not, the Fever struggled to keep up against them.
It was even more disappointing as Indiana hadn’t lost to Dallas until this game. And being without Clark was no excuse. The team had dominated the Wings without her twice. While Bueckers is a class player, the Wings knew all the cards they had, which should have made things easier to contain her. Their defense has been leaky at various times during the season, which is something they will need to fix to become a proper contender.
Indiana Fever’s Defense Last Hurdle To Complete Their Development
Even with all the guard troubles, the Indiana Fever have shown themselves to be capable on offense. Kelsey Mitchell is a reliable scorer at 20 points per game, while Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston are capable supporters with 11.5 points and 15.1 points per game, respectively. The team is scoring 84.5 points per game with an offensive rating of 105.2, which is among the best in the league. It’s still not their ceiling, but since they are without Clark, they have sustained as well as they could.
BOSTON, MA – JULY 15: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 looks on during a WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun on July 15, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, MA. Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire WNBA: JUL 15 Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon25071503
The problem arises with their defense. It’s been 16 games since the Indiana Fever had a game where they conceded less than 70 points. In the last 11 games, they have conceded more than 95 points in 5. Their defensive rating of 101.2 sits in the middle of the pack, but they don’t want to be middle of the pack.
“We have really high standards for ourselves,” Lexie Hull said earlier this season. “We have expectations for what the end of the postseason looks like, and that goal doesn’t change.”
Their precarious situation with injuries doesn’t change their end goal. If they want to succeed and get there, defense is the thing they can improve on. They need to defend as a team in the paint, as they concede 37.7 points in that area, which is among the worst in the league. The Sparks exposed their paint troubles multiple times this season. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard will be key if they want to repair that problem. The first step will be preventing the best players from their opponents from getting too comfortable. In their next game, that would be Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron. Will the new guards patch their defense in some way? The fans don’t think so, but they will hope for the best.
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