It’s been a challenging season in Indiana, and with that has come an increased focus on the Fever sidelines amid the team’s recent struggles.
Superstar guard Caitlin Clark had recently been captured in a spirited back-and-forth with Fever head coach Stephanie White on the sidelines of their 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire last week.
And now, during what became an 83-75 loss to the Liberty, Clark was seen appearing to snub a high-five from teammate Ty Harris as the Fever trailed by six with 1:26 to go in the game.
Harris ended up patting Clark, who might have just been in a competitive zone and not seen her, on the shoulder instead.
Fans had a lot to say following the moment circulating on social media.
One, defending Clark, contested “Y’all never seen how athletes act when they lose?” with a crying emoji. “Not all gon be gracious.”
She earned a reply from another user, saying, “The clock said 0:00?” noting that, while behind six with nearly a minute and a half to go, the game appeared to be in reach.
Another fan who defended Clark said, “Still led the game in assists while her teammates couldn’t finish on quite a few buckets. I’d be pissed too. We’re losing, ain’t no time for bench players to get dapped up.”
One user pointed out Clark’s struggles in the game as well.
“Bro, I don’t dislike her, but she did not have a good game,” the fan wrote. “Missed key layup got hung out to dry on defense & got in foul trouble so I had to sit. You clearly didn’t watch the game.”
Clark and the Fever are just 5-5 on the season and have now lost 3-of-4 heading into Monday night’s game in Washington to take on the Mystics.
In what was clearly a frustrating loss, Clark was limited to just 10 points and shot 4-of-14 from the field, while hitting 2-of-6 from three, though she did have nine assists and seven boards.
Over the four-game stretch, Clark has averaged 12.3 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per contest while shooting just 28 percent from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point-range.
For the season, Clark’s averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per contest, though she’s shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from deep.