The Indiana Fever have gone and done the impossible. Down 13 against the Minnesota Lynx, without Caitlin Clark? Not many had them winning this game! But fortune favors the brave. The Indiana Fever, led ably by Natasha Howard’s 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, made an impressive comeback to win 74-59.
While Howard ended up winning the MVP and taking home an extra $5000 check for her performance, she wasn’t the only one who contributed. Aliyah Boston, Aari McDonald, and Kelsey Mitchell all had 12 points each. Caitlin Clark’s personal ”bodyguard” Sophie Cunningham also finished the game with 13 points. A true team effort.
“So, we have to try to be disruptive, and we have to try to take them out of that rhythm,” was what coach Stephanie White described would be their game plan to contain the Lynx ahead of the game. And they did that to perfection. The Fever choked the Lynx, forcing them into their worst offensive game of the season. Minnesota shot just 34.9% from the field and hit only 4 of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. That’s a huge drop-off from the 9.4 three-pointers per game we were generally used to seeing.
A big part of Fever’s win tonight was also their ability to keep the MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier quiet. She came into this game shooting 52.5% from the field and averaging a league-best 24.5 points per game. But what happened next was completely out of the syllabus. She was held to just 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists on 33.3% shooting – well below her high standards.
Jul 1, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White holds up the Commissioner’s Cup trophy after defeating the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
And coach Stephanie White didn’t hesitate to credit Howard for her work on Collier. “You know, Natasha was a defensive player of the year in our league. She’s got length, she’s got athleticism, she’s fast twitch (smiling). So her ability to recover I think… she stayed incredibly disciplined and made Phee take tough shots. I thought our off ball defense… was really good. We showed multiple bodies, we didn’t commit one way or another… we recovered back to shooters so we were able to keep them off balance.”
While Natasha Howard rightfully earned the spotlight for her MVP-worthy performance, Caitlin Clark could only watch from the sidelines, nursing a groin injury. This does raise a few interesting questions. How many games has the superstar missed this season? How many have the Fever won without her? Let’s analyze it.
How many WNBA games has Caitlin Clark missed this season?
So far, Caitlin Clark has missed 8 games this season. She has suffered 2 different injuries so far this season, which we’re ideally not used to seeing. When Clark first injured her left quadriceps after the games against Liberty in May, Clark would go on to miss 5 games. As fate would have it, her return game was also against the Liberty, where she scored 32 points to help the Fever win.
Status Report for tomorrow’s game against Minnesota:
Damiris Dantas – NWT (national team obligation)
Caitlin Clark – Questionable (left groin) pic.twitter.com/zLIwvD35P6
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 30, 2025
Currently, Caitlin is out nursing a groin injury. She has so far missed games against the Sparks, Wings, and most recently, the Lynx. Coach Stephanie White has called the whole injury situation a “day-to-day” thing. But so far, there is no official timeline given by the organization.
Indiana Fever’s WNBA Record In 2025 Without Caitlin Clark
In the 8 games Caitlin Clark has missed this season, the Indiana Fever hold an even 4-4 record. They’ve suffered losses to the Sparks, Dream, Sun, and Mystics in her absence. But on the brighter side, the Fever have now won two consecutive games without their talisman, which does suggest that they are slowly learning to play without her.
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