UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Head coach Christie Sides sat at the podium shortly after the Indiana Fever’s elimination with one clear message: The Game 2 loss was nothing for Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and the rest of the Fever to be ashamed of. In two consecutive postseason defeats against the veteran-laden Connecticut Sun, her young squad left everything on the floor.
“We’re all competitors in that locker room, so it doesn’t feel good to leave here and not have the opportunity to get another one, an opportunity to move forward,” Sides said after the 87-81 defeat. “But the resiliency that these guys showed all year — God dang, give Connecticut credit, right? They are an extremely good team. I’m proud of these guys for how we played on Sunday, and they took from that and really did what we asked them to do tonight — and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
The Fever’s season was headlined by Clark breaking records in one of the most impressive rookie campaigns ever, but it also included a plethora of other storylines, including Kelsey Mitchell’s career year, Boston’s all-around sophomore leap, and Lexie Hull’s emergence as a critical role player. Indiana managed to overcome a historically brutal schedule leading to a 1-8 start, and finished the season with a 9-5 post-Olympic record in order to secure the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs.
“It was special. A lot of things this group accomplished people that didn’t think was possible after the start we had to the season,” Clark said. “It will definitely be a little weird for the first couple weeks and then I’ll get bored and pick up a basketball again.”
Ultimately, experience won out. In the Game 2 loss, Indiana wasn’t able to overcome a well-balanced veteran squad that saw contributions from a range of players, including 19 points from Alyssa Thomas, a dagger three-point shot from Marina Mabrey, and clutch late-game baskets from veteran DeWanna Bonner. DiJonai Carrington, fresh off a Most Improved Player -winning season, was productive on both ends, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Veronica Burton were key off the bench.
For Indiana, Clark bounced back from a tough Game 1 showing with 25 points and 9 assists, while Boston dominated in the post. The Fever’s 2023 No. 1 pick scored 17 points and 11 rebounds in Game 1, and followed that up with a 16-point, 19-rebound performance.
“Obviously you never want to lose, and especially losing right now with the chance to go home and they want more games,” Boston said. “It truly sucks. But I think just being able to get a taste of this playoff feeling…” she trailed off, seemingly thinking about getting another chance in the postseason.
“I mean, they’re a veteran squad. They make the right reads and hit some tough shots.”
Still, it’d be hard to characterize Indiana’s season as anything other than successful. Clark was asked to rate her performance, and noted she was happy overall but recognized she had lots of room to grow.
“I’m a tough grader. I feel like I had a solid year,” Clark said. “For me, the fun part is like I feel like I’m just scratching the surface and I’m the one that’s nit picking every single thing I do. I know I want to help this franchise… I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve so that’s what excites me the most. I feel like I continue to get a lot better.”
Christie Sides reflected on how bright the future is for Indiana, and how proud she is food this group:
“We definitely have the pieces to have some great years ahead of us.” pic.twitter.com/8sbVvuKfpb
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) September 26, 2024
Kelsey Mitchell, who had a difficult postseason after a tremendous regular season, will be a free agent this summer. Whether Indiana will be able to retain her — or acquire any other impact players — is a key question heading into the offseason. Mitchell has previously stated she would explore free agency, and as the team’s second-leading scorer and veteran leader, her loss would be monumental.
Hull, meanwhile, is signed through 2025, while veteran Erica Wheeler, like Mitchell, is a free agent. Clark and Boston, the Fever’s youngest two players, are both under contract until the foreseeable future; Boston through 2026, and Clark through 2027. That duo alone is promising enough that regardless of who else is positioned around them, the Fever should be competitive.
Both Clark and Boston are just 22-years-old, and both solidified as formidable forces in their respective positions. Clark has particularly thrived when surrounded by 3-and-D players (like Kate Martin in Iowa and Lexie Hull in Indiana) and the Fever could explode free agency to try and secure such a player. Indiana also has its three 2024 draft picks, though the exact placements have yet to be solidified. An ESPN mock draft projected Indiana landing the No. 8 pick.
In the short term, neither Clark nor Boston have publicly shared any offseason plans, with Clark even joking she’d consider taking up a golf career: “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to the next day. Maybe play some golf. I think that’s what I’m gonna do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. I’ll become a professional golfer.”
Boston, who only has a year of experience as a professional, maintained a big-picture perspective at the podium.
“Looking how far we’ve come from the [early] side of the season to now, I’m just super proud of our group, because I think it’s such a special twelve [players], and I just can’t wait to see what the future holds,” she said.
Despite all the success they achieved this season, the Indiana Fever never had a great shot at a championship. The Sun have made the semi-finals for seven consecutive seasons and had a combined 222 postseason games of experience heading into the first-round matchup with the Fever.
“When you’re looking at a rebuild year, everyone wants to obviously jump to the championships and bring home the ring and everything,” Boston said. “But I think when you look at basketball as a whole and when you look at where you start to where you are now, it’s about stepping stones.”
Clark acknowledged that coming so close made the elimination even more painful, but also echoed Boston’s and Side’s optimism.
“It’s a good little taste of what’s possible for this organization and for this franchise,” Clark said. “There’s a lot for us to hold our heads high about. This team won 5 games two years ago. We’re a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, and we came together and had a lot of fun playing with one another, and that’s sometimes the worst part of it — you feel like you’re really playing your best basketball, and then it has to end. But this group stayed resilient all year and had a lot of fun together.”
A few months ago, when Caitlin Clark walked off the podium after her Iowa team lost South Carolina in the NCAA championship, she was in tears, knowing a chapter of her life had come to a close.
This time, there was a lightness about Clark that reflected she knew the situation was vastly different: this chapter was just getting started.
