Caitlin Clark endures worst game of her WNBA career as Fever star erupts at head coach

Frustrations appear to be brewing within the Indiana Fever.

In Saturday night’s nationally televised game against one of the latest additions to the WNBA in the Portland Fire, things did not exactly go as planned for Caitlin Clark and company.

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Portland dominated the contest from tip-off, and had opened up a 14 point lead after the first quarter alone.

With the Fever coming off the back of a brutal 90-88 defeat to the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, they needed their stars to lead the charge and get them back to winning ways.

But the opposite was true, with superstar Clark having a night to forget in a lopsided 100-84 defeat.

Scoring just six points from 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-3 from deep, Clark possibly the worst game of her pro career – amid ongoing claims she has not developed enough since entering the league – although she did have a team-high six assists.

In fact, it was her worst shooting display since June 24, 2025 against the Seattle Storm when she also scored just six points.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 24-year-old struggled just as much, if not more, with her primary assignment Carla Leite finishing the game with 18 points and 12 assists.

Clark also struggled to stay out of foul trouble, picking up five in the contest.

Fever head coach Stephanie White wound up benching her star guard, who played just 22 minutes in the contest.

But it was in the second quarter of the game where things took a turn for Clark, as she appeared to get very animated in an apparent altercation with White on the sideline during a timeout.

In a clip which surfaced on social media, White appeared to have some choice words for her player, pointing at her several times while slapping her knee in frustration.

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Rookie guard Raven Johnson – once was a rival of Clark during college – was inserted into the game in her place, though the former Iowa Hawkeyes star did re-enter the game about two-and-a-half minutes later.

“Well, AB is still in a minutes restriction, so that’s why she’s coming out, and that’s typically around the same time that we’ve taken Caitlin out before,” White said after the game of her decision to sit Clark out at that point in the contest, per Chloe Peterson of IndyStar.

“We didn’t in Golden State because, quite honestly, we didn’t want Raven in that environment without another ball handler on the floor, but that’s been our typical substitution pattern.”

Breakdown in relationship between Clark and White?

The relationship between White and the Fever’s franchise cornerstone has been subject to rumors for quite a while now suggesting that things aren’t rosy in the Hoosier State.

But in an appearance on the Query & Company podcast on Wednesday, White opened up on her Clark, and made it very clear that there were no issues.

“It’s great, it’s great,” White said of her relationship with Clark. “I have so much respect and admiration for her as a player, as a person, and the way that she handles herself.

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“We’re very much alike in terms of our competitive fire, our competitive spirit, our perfectionism, so to speak, and our Type A personalities.

“I love going to work with her every day. I love that she loves to be coached and challenged and pushed. She wants to be the best, and you want to be surrounded by people who want to be the best.

“So she makes it easy to come to work and to get after it every day.”

Next up for the Fever is welcoming the Atlanta Dream to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where Clark will take on her long-time rival Angel Reese – who was traded from the Chicago Sky in a blockbuster deal during the off-season – for the very first time this season.

It will be interesting to see whether White deploys her usual substitution rotation in that game.

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