Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides expressed strong criticism of her team following their heavy loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday night, during which Caitlin Clark managed just 10 points. Sides emphasized the importance of effort in professional play, stating, “You can’t, at this level, coach effort. I felt like we were just trying to ask them to keep playing hard. You can’t start there. You can’t play in this league if you have to coach effort. It’s just too hard.”
The game concluded with an 89-72 victory for the Sun, who had led by as many as 28 points. The Fever showed some improvement when Sides benched most of her starters, including Clark, midway through the third quarter. Sides explained her decision, saying, “We were down 28 and I wanted to put a group in there that would get out and play some defense. I’m really, really proud of that group that went out there and cut the lead. They played hard.”
Acknowledging the strength of their opponent, Sides pointed out that the Sun hold the best record in the WNBA (10-1), while the Fever (3-10) have faced a tough schedule early in the season. The Fever’s upcoming games are against teams with more modest records, the Chicago Sky (4-6) and the Atlanta Dream (5-4). Clark deemed these two home games “very winnable … for our group.”
In their previous meeting, the Fever had lost to the Sun by just four points, but their performance on Monday was subpar on both ends of the floor. Clark, who scored all her 10 points in the first half, commented, “This is a team you can’t come out and be lackadaisical against; they’re just that good. They’re going to punch you in the mouth. And I don’t think we had it from the jump, and obviously, that’s a little disappointing.”
One standout for the Fever was Aliyah Boston, the former No. 1 overall pick, who recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds.
