Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White refuses to blame Caitlin Clark alone for the team's 86-84 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
Clark, who finished with 20 points and eight assists in the defeat, told reporters after the game that it was her fault that they lost. It's worth noting that the All-Star guard was at the center of two costly errors in the fourth quarter and overtime that allowed the Aces to secure the victory.
In the fourth quarter, Clark missed two free throws with seven seconds left. With the Fever leading 75-72 at that point, it would have been a two-possession game had she made at least one. After her missed shots, Chelsea Gray proceeded to drain a 3-pointer to force overtime.
In the overtime period, Clark made another ugly mistake. With just seven seconds left and Indiana ahead 84-83, she made a bad pass that led to a turnover. Las Vegas took advantage of the opportunity, with Gray once again stepping up and making the game-winning triple as time expired.
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While White appreciated Clark taking accountability, she emphasized that her late-game mistakes were not the sole reason for their loss.
"I think you like that as [taking] ownership, you know. But as an athlete and as a coach, and as somebody who's been around for a long time, you know it doesn't come down to one singular thing," White said in her postgame press conference.
The Fever had 21 turnovers in the loss, a team issue that White thought was a huge factor in the heartbreaking turn of events. Indiana led by as many as 20 points in the contest but saw its lead quickly disappear.
"It doesn't come down to one thing. And I know, again, it's easy to to look at it and think that it does, but it it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it's a different ball game," White added.
However, White hopes that the disappointment will fuel Clark and the rest of the Fever to do better when they return to action against the Chicago Sky on Saturday.
"She's disappointed in herself, certainly, as I'm sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel, and she's going to be better. I know she's going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean, she's a competitor. She's a fighter," the Fever coach said.
