Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever jumped to 2-2 on Sunday after taking down Flau'jae Johnson and the Seattle Storm 89-78. And on Wednesday, the Fever looked to secure two straight wins, along with their first winning record of the 2026 WNBA season, as they remained in Indianapolis to host Carla Leite and the 2-2 Portland Fire at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark is tracking to have her best WNBA season in her third year with Indiana. Through the first four games of 2026, the former Iowa Hawkeyes star has averaged career highs of 24.3 points on 42.5% shooting and 9.0 assists, to go along with 5.0 rebounds.
Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
But just hours before Fever vs. Fire, Indiana announced that Clark had been ruled out for Wednesday’s game with a back injury. The news came one day after the Fever reported no injuries, while coach Stephanie White revealed pregame that Clark did not participate in Tuesday’s practice and instead received treatment.
"Stephanie White says Caitlin Clark did not participate in practice yesterday, getting treatment instead, and she woke up this morning with stiffness," IndyStar's Chloe Peterson wrote on X. “'For us, it’s not the time to take a chance.' Says she doesn’t anticipate it being ongoing, but adds she’s not a doctor."
With the late scratch for Clark, the Fever violated a WNBA rule if the team was aware of the injury beforehand. On the official WNBA injury report page, the league states that teams must designate a player’s participation status by “5 p.m. local time the day before a game.” Indiana did not announce Clark’s status until more than 24 hours after that deadline.
"WNBA teams must report information concerning player injuries, illnesses, other medical conditions, or rest for all WNBA games," the WNBA writes. "By 5 p.m. local time the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness, other medical condition, or other reason for any player whose participation in the game may be affected for any reason. For the second game of a back-to-back, teams must report the above information by 1 p.m. local time on the day of the game."
Following the Fire game, the Fever will be back in action on Friday, facing the Golden State Valkyries at home.
