The Indiana Fever’s 2026 season officially came to an end Thursday night at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces.
A’ja Wilson powered the Aces to a Game 3 win over the Fever, scoring 36 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Fever just didn’t receive enough efficiency from their dynamic duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. They combined for 41 points but on 13-for-41 shooting from the field.
“Obviously, probably [let this] hurt a little bit,” Clark said postgame. “This is really only my fifth game playing in the postseason, so you kind of take the burn a little bit but also [remember] how much fun this season was and how together our group was and just getting to replicate that going forward.”
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images.
While Clark mostly had positive things to say after the Game 3 loss, fans were caught up on her and her head coach’s remarks regarding the officiating.
“It’s a game of margins,” Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters. “They had 35 free throws and we had 20.”
Immediately after White shared that statistic, Clark chimed in and said, “Hmm, interesting.”
Fans don’t want to hear it.
After hearing those comments from Clark and White, fans accused the Fever of making excuses for their season-ending loss.
“In game two they shot 34 and Indiana shot 24 and they won. Don’t blame free throws,” one fan said.
“She went 6-18 FG, 3-12 3PT, and 6 turnovers,” a second fan commented.
“Part of that disparity was the Fever intentionally fouling at the end of the game,” a third fan added.
“Let’s pull up how many free throws the fever had in game two,” another fan wrote. “Let’s not act like the refs don’t make calls based on home court advantage. Every shot counts in the playoffs. Tonight the aces were just better shooters. Game 2 fever was. Move on and comeback next year.”
As long as the Fever have a healthy Clark, they’ll be a playoff contender. Now, they need to figure out how to maximize their roster’s potential.
