Caitlin Clark Says Fever 'Struggled To Do What the Coaches Asked' in Loss to Valkyries

Caitlin Clark returned from a five-game injury absence on Wednesday, though it wasn't enough to keep the Indiana Fever from suffering a 80-61 home loss to the Golden State Valkyries.

"We struggled scouting-report wise. We struggled [with] personnel. We struggled to do what the coaches asked of us," Clark told reporters after the loss. "And then overall, they just played with more energy and effort, and those are the things that just can't happen."

Clark played a little under 25 minutes in the loss, scoring 10 points (4-of-12 from the field) with five rebounds, six assists and four turnovers in her first appearance since June 29. The Fever are now 9-10 on the season and just 5-5 when she's been available.

Head coach Stephanie White told reporters that Clark "really looked good" in her return.

"Maybe I'm naive, but I don't worry about Caitlin getting back into the flow offensively," she added. "I think my biggest concern is when we reintegrate her, how do we continue to keep our ball movement and get the ball going not just side to side, but baseline to baseline. I was a little bit concerned defensively, just lots of movement, lots of lateral movement. I thought she looked good at times, and I think that that's just building consistency and building her endurance and all of that."

She was not pleased with the team's overall effort, however.

"I'm not sure if it's not knowing the game plan... as much as not executing the game plan," White told reporters. "Our attention to detail, our discipline. I felt like our energy and our competitive fire was not there, and that's disappointing."

The Fever won the Commissioner's Cup, but beyond that have been a bit of a disappointment this season and are now tied with the Washington Mystics and Las Vegas Aces for seventh place in the WNBA. Just eight teams reach the playoffs.