All season long, the Indiana Fever have had to deal with one setback after another. Caitlin Clark’s injuries, DeWanna Bonner’s saga, and losing one guard after another. While injuries and roster issues are sometimes out of your control, Indiana has had to deal with another setback. A setback that they can easily control. We’re obviously talking about Indiana’s worrying trend of losing after having big leads. With the Fever losing another big lead against the Minnesota Lynx, coach Stephanie White revealed what led to this heartbreaking loss. 

In a game where Indiana was on the receiving end of the WNBA’s fastest triple-double ever, they still had a chance to win against the league’s table toppers. Without their leader and best player, Napheesa Collier, Minnesota initially struggled but came back strongly to deal another blow to Indiana’s playoff chances. While Minnesota did find its shooting boots, they were also aided by multiple errors by the Indiana Fever. Talking to the reporters during her post-game media availability, head coach Stephanie White shed some light on these errors. 

When asked about Indiana’s struggles on the defensive end, Stephanie responded, “I think those two runs that they had into the second, beginning of the third. Turnovers for scores part of it. You can’t set you defense with that. Letting players get to their strengths. You can’t lose Kayla McBride. I mean, she’s one of the prolific 3-point shooters in league history. We had moments where we had some breakdowns in personnel D and it hurts us.”

At one point during the first half, the Indiana Fever held a 12-point lead. However, in just under 10 minutes of game time from the 8-minute mark in the second quarter and the 9-minute mark of the third, the game was flipped by 14 points. The Minnesota Lynx took the lead on a Jessica Shepard layup. Shepard had a historic night as she recorded the league’s fastest triple-double ever (22 minutes). Not only was this the fastest triple-double, it was also the most efficient one, with Shepard shooting 90% from the field (10-11). However, in Napheesa’s absence, Kayla McBride took on most of the scoring burden. 

Kayla McBride went 10-19 from the field as she led the scorers with 29 points. She complemented her scoring with 6 assists and also made all her free throws. Natisha Hiedeman also had a good performance and scored 17 points. For the Indiana Fever, Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull had a good game and scored 27 and 23 points, respectively. While the game was certainly important for Indiana’s playoff prospects, they were also hoping a win against the league’s best team might take the attention away from the shocking Caitlin Clark injury update. 

On August 20, a report came out disclosing Caitlin Clark’s injury. Per the report, Caitlin Clark suffered a very mild bone bruise in her ankle on August 7. Though the report did mention that the injury is not going to have any impact on CC’s recovery from a groin injury, the fact that it came out nearly 2 weeks after the injury is baffling. While the fans might have been hoping that Caitlin would come back for this crucial stretch, this report has put a damper on it. In this crucial stretch, the Fever still has to play the league leaders Minnesota Lynx, twice more.

That in itself is a big challenge. Combine that with the fact that the Indiana Fever just lost another player to injury.

Indiana Fever Lose Yet Another Guard as Caitlin Clark’s Replacement Awaits Evaluation

The backcourt position for the Indiana Fever has been like a game of musical chairs. With so much turnover due to injuries, the Fever are now up to their fourth Caitlin Clark replacement on a hardship contract. The latest one, however, might also be due to injury to a prior CC replacement, Odyssey Sims. 

Odyssey Sims was signed by the Indiana Fever early in August. Initially, she struggled and even had a scoreless game. However, she had recently started to play better and looked set for a bigger role. However, during Indiana’s loss against the Minnesota Lynx, she suffered an injury. During the fourth quarter, Odyssey Sims limped off the floor after attempting a shot. She went to the locker room along with the team’s trainers. Sims returned to the bench but didn’t go back into the game. After the game, coach Stephanie White revealed that Sims is currently awaiting further evaluation of her injury

Though Odyssey’s return to the bench does seem like an encouraging sign, the Fever have wasted no time and signed another guard. This time around, the Fever has signed veteran guard Aerial Powers. Aerial last played in the 2025 WNBA season with the Golden State Valkyries. While the wait on Odyssey Sims and Caitlin Clark’s return from injury remains, Powers’ first mission would be to help the Indiana get through this tough stretch, including a doubleheader against the Minnesota Lynx.