The Indiana Fever turned in its worst performance of the season in Saturday night’s loss to the Portland Fire. Despite entering the game favored by as many as 12 points on some sportsbooks, the Fever lost the contest 100-84, and the on-court frustrations spilled over onto the sidelines.
Star Fever point guard Caitlin Clark had one of the worst performances of her young career, shooting just 1-for-7 from the field and missing all three of her three-point attempts. What was even more concerning for Clark was her struggles on the defensive end of the floor.
The Fire constantly attacked Clark in isolation, resulting in Clark getting in foul trouble and the Fire having massive amounts of success, with Fire guard Carla Leite finishing the game with 18 points and 12 assists.
In the second quarter of the game, a camera caught Clark getting into a heated exchange with head coach Stephanie White, leading to White pulling Clark out of the game for rookie Raven Johnson.
Thought Steph left her fire in Connecticut! 🥵 pic.twitter.com/meFefzUAAf
— Mostly WNBA Tweets (@MostlyWNBA) May 31, 2026
On Sunday, Women’s basketball legends Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller spoke about the intense moment for NBC’s WNBA studio show, and Miller let Clark hear it.
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen,” Miller said. “It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but [it’s another thing] when it spills over, and when the coach has to basically say ‘you know what Caitlin, enough is enough, this is too disruptive, in and out, take a seat.'”
Cheryl Miller on the Caitlin Clark/Stephanie White bench incident:
“Right now, it’s frustration. And unfortunately, it’s boiling over, and it’s being seen. It’s one thing to have it behind closed doors, but [it’s another thing] when it spills over, and when the coach has to… pic.twitter.com/73oYTCszvh
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) May 31, 2026
Clark’s next game will be on Thursday against her biggest rival, Angel Reese, and the Atlanta Dream. It’ll be interesting to see which version of Clark we get.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.