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NaLyssa Smith, a third-year big for the Indiana Fever, grabbed the steal and sprinted to the mid-court. The Fever was in a state of flux. Smith dribbled to create space so that teammate Katie Lou Samuelson could sling the ball up the floor. However, Smith gave away the bounce pass far too early. With ease, the Seattle Storm regained the lead, as Jewell Loyd converted a transition triple.

With around ninety seconds remaining in the first quarter, Loyd made his fifth basket of the game to put Seattle ahead by nine points. Caitlin Clark was scoreless in the quarter, but the Fever came back in the third quarter to lead by two. Kristy Wallace attempted an inbound pass, but Clark muffed it in the corner with two seconds remaining in the fourth, denying her a chance to make the game-winning shot.

The Fever’s record fell to 0-5 this season when the Storm prevailed 85-83 at home. The last few minutes were mostly made up of in-depth evaluations by the referees, which Clark later declared to be the longest minute of basketball she had played in a while. Just last Monday, the Fever lost to the undefeated Connecticut Sun 88-84 despite failing to make the game-tying jumper.

These two hurt the most, without a doubt, according to Clark. We’re only six points away from finishing 2-3 as opposed to 0-5. It’s so close, and there are so many occasions where you can watch the movie again and see small issues that are simple to resolve. You have to have faith in it, in my opinion, especially since you are currently 0–5. If it bothers you, I don’t believe that will be really helpful to us.

Two weeks into the regular season, the younger Fever team is still ironing out the kinks and chemistry. Smith’s intercepted pass and the separation between Wallace and Clark are two examples of this. In the WNBA, Clark and Wallace have not collaborated. Samuelson and Smith haven’t either. Following childbirth, the latter didn’t play in 2023 at all. The chemistry is being developed. After losing to the Sun 88-84, the Fever appeared to be turning the corner, but they are still clinging to the wall.

Loyd and Nneka Ogwumike, the Storm’s two-player combination, utterly destroyed the Fever. With Loyd at guard and Ogwumike in the post, the two combined for 54 points. Loyd, the Seattle team’s 2015 Rookie of the Year, shot a slow 7-for-40 in the first two games.

games to begin the current campaign. In the subsequent two games, Loyd’s 3-point shooting declined while her efficiency increased.

In essence, the three-time WNBA All-Star had not yet completed her performance.

Then the Fever made an appearance. Granted, there are some qualifiers: the Storm returned home on Wednesday night following a three-game road trip, which allowed Loyd more time to settle into a rhythm. Is it a coincidence, though, that the All-Star’s breakthrough performance came during the Fever game? Like their relationship, their defense has been a work in progress for some weeks. Against the Fever’s 13 offensive rebounds, the Storm pulled down 17. In the most recent quarter, five happened.

In the meantime, the Fever made five mistakes in the game’s last 4:30. Regarding the Storm’s After the first turnover in the previously stated period, Seattle’s lead was increased to four points by Sami Whitcomb’s triple on the next possession. On the Fever’s next possession, Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell went out of bounds with the Storm leading by nine points. It was the Fever’s fourth-quarter errors that cost them. And before that, with 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Fever led 60-56 thanks to a 12-2 run.