Caitlin Clark is used to seeing the ball go through the net, but even the biggest stars and best shooters inevitably go through a slump.
In the midst of a West Coast swing, the Indiana Fever lost their second game in a row Sunday following a 89-81 defeat at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces. Clark had a 19-point, 10-assist double-double, but struggled from deep connecting on just one of her 10 three-point attempts.
The Fever fell to the Golden State Valkyries Thursday on a night where Clark shot 0 for 7 on threes and 3 for 14 from the field, putting up 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Since Indiana went out West following a big home win over the Connecticut Sun which clinched the Fever a spot in the Commissioner's Cup final, Clark is just 1 for 17 from three-point land.
After the loss in Las Vegas Sunday, Clark opened up about the tough shooting stretch with an honest assessment of the past two games.
"There are going to be stretches that are really good and there's going to be stretches that aren't as good," Clark said to reporters postgame Sunday via the Indy Star's Chloe Peterson. "Obviously, it's frustrating as you want them to go in. Even tonight I felt like there was a few that felt really good off my hand and they just didn't go down."
She has certainly impacted the game in other ways. And the sheer attention that she draws beyond the perimeter opens the rest of the floor up for the Fever, but she's used to seeing the three-ball go down in volume. She acknowledged it's only a matter of time before the shot starts falling again and in the meantime she will work to continue impacting the offense outside of her deep shot.
"Certainly it was a tough shooting night," she continued. "I got to find a way to continue to shoot and remain confident in myself because I know I've put the time in. I don't feel like it's anything that's off necessarily, but yeah, it would've been nice if they went down."
Before the 1 for 17 stretch, Clark went 11 for 20 on threes in her previous two games, which were both wins. There's nothing to panic over for one of the WNBA's best shooters. She has a chance to turn it around in the Fever's next game as they finish their road trip Tuesday night in Seattle against the Storm.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Had Brutally Honest Take on Her Shooting Struggles in Fever’s Loss.
