Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark played for about 16 minutes in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday in Los Angeles. File Photo by Corey Sipkin/UPI | License Photo
WNBA star Caitlin Clark made just 4 of 12 shots and struggled in her first game in two weeks, an Indiana Fever loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Fever guard, who missed two games because of back issues, played for about 16 minutes in the 106-92 setback Wednesday in Los Angeles. She scored nine points, made 1 of 6 attempts from 3-point range and totaled four turnovers, in addition to her four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
“It’s really, really hard to get into a flow,” Clark told reporters, according to the Indianapolis Star. “For the most part, I got good looks. Some of them went, some of them didn’t.
“I didn’t get to have a feel for the game as I usually do. But overall, my body feels great. So that’s a positive you take from today. It stinks we didn’t play very well as a team, but I feel really good. So we’ll see how I feel [Thursday], too. But can definitely take a win there.”
Fever coach Stephanie White played Clark in stints of about three minutes against the Sparks. She ruled the All-Star out for the Fever’s next game, a meeting with the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday in Phoenix.
“Anytime you’ve missed a couple weeks, it’s going to take some time to get acclimated,” White said at her postgame news conference. “They pressured 94 feet. So, again, you got to make sure that you’re able to withstand some of that. It’s never easy when you’re reintegrating, you know, after injuries, so I thought she did some really good things.
“It’s just a tough scenario when you’re on a minutes restriction, and you’re trying to get back into rhythm throughout the course of the season. So she’s going to continue to be better, and we’re going to continue to be better.”
Clark said she hopes to see her minutes increase to 25 in her next appearance, which is expected to be against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday in Las Vegas.
The Fever (12-9) are seventh in the WNBA standings, 3.5 games behind the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (16-6). The Aces (15-6) sit in second place, a half-game behind the Lynx.
The Mercury (8-14), who will host the Fever at 10 p.m. EDT Thursday at Mortgage Matchup Center, are 12th in the WNBA standings.
Clark, 24, averaged a career-high 20.5 points, with 7.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game through 18 appearances this season. She also shot a career-best 42.6% and logged a career-low 4.6 turnovers per game. The Fever went 3-0 during Clark’s three absences this season.
Fellow All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with a career-best 22.2 points per game through 21 starts this season for the Fever.
Fever center Aliyah Boston, who sat out Wednesday due to leg injury, averaged a career-high 17.1 points, with 8.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game through her first 19 starts of 2026. The Fever went 1-1 during her two absences.
