The last thing Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White can afford to do is upset Caitlin Clark‘s enormous fan base.
Yet she managed to do just that on Friday night after the Fever lost a close game versus the Washington Mystics in overtime.
After the game, White was asked about Clark’s late-game surge that saw her put the team on her back in the fourth quarter to erase a nine-point deficit and force the extra period.
While the question was specifically about Clark, White didn’t directly acknowledge her star player and instead chose to talk about the team.
“Yeah Steph, what did you think of the rally that your team had in the fourth quarter, really when it comes to Caitlin? I think she had five threes in that fourth quarter, more than her first two games combined. So, just your thoughts on the resilience from her,” the reporter asked.
“I thought our whole group showed resilience in that rally. We showed the ability to make tough shots. We had some really good time and score execution moments, offensively and defensively you know in those moments, we just have to have more of it consistently,” she responded.
Fans believe this is a sign that White does not like Clark, and likely because of her jealousy toward the WNBA superstar, which has been a charge levied from fans about most of the league since Clark’s rise to stardom that has made her bigger than the WNBA.
As a result of White’s comments, Clark’s supporters were not happy and there were even some calling for White to be fired or for Clark to leave the Fever.
“[Caitlin Clark] we gotta get outta here,” one fan said.
“She just refuses to give Caitlin any credit! The whole team didn’t hit all those threes when it mattered,” another fan said.
“Why must she ALWAYS take a question specifically about Clark and redirect it elsewhere? Stop it. It’s pathological at this point,” another fan said of White.
“I really try to be objective, but if you look at the body language of the HC, her cold stares, rotations, her lack of support she does not like CC, she clearly wants everyone to know who ‘runs the show.’ I hope management does whatever they need to do to clean this up,” one Clark supporter wrote.
Caitlin Clark’s late-game surge
Caitlin Clark had struggled over her first two games and three quarters of the WNBA season before her offensive explosion against the Mystics.
The Iowa product hit just 3-of-16 three-pointers in those two games while making 16-of-35 shots in total.
Then, against Washington, Clark was just 2-for-15 from the field over the first three quarters of the contest.
But the threes started falling in the fourth quarter on Friday night, with Clark hitting a whopping five of them en route to seven in total.
She also notched a steal, a pair of assists and a layup to bring the Fever back in the final quarter of regulation.
It was another stark reminder of why Clark is the big-ticket draw in the WNBA. She simply does things that most human beings cannot.
The problem for the Fever was a lack of defense. Indiana has now given up over 100 points in two of three games.
After the loss against the Mystics, the Fever will look to bounce back on Sunday against the Seattle Storm.
