Clark, Fever hope that team meeting helps players, coaches move on from Saturday's sideline spat

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two-time WNBA All-Star Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters Monday they had moved beyond what appeared to be a sideline spat.

Apparently, they weren't just speaking publicly about the incident.

On Tuesday, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham revealed the team's players and coaches also had a frank, “long” conversation intended to hash things out and get everyone back on the same page following back-to-back losses on the West Coast.

“We had a team meeting (Monday) — a long meeting — and so hopefully we've kind of turned the page,” Cunningham said. “I think we were in there an hour and a half, almost two hours and we built back all the layers. I think everyone's on a good page right now and ready to work. We'll say it started (as a) coaches (meeting) and then ended up being players. It was much needed, though.”

Cunningham and All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell did not divulge specifics about what was discussed, and White said the meeting didn't go quite as long as Cunningham thought.

Clearly, though, everyone thought it was necessary and valuable after TV cameras caught the incident between Clark and White during Saturday night's 100-84 loss to Portland — an expansion team Indiana beat by 17 points just 10 days earlier without Clark.

White and Clark each downplayed the scene Monday, saying it was merely two competitors trying to figure out how to win a game, and White explained she was simply challenging her star player to perform at a higher level. Mitchell saw it the same way.

“I think it's a part of being a family," she said. “If you think everything is glitz and glamour, then you're mistaken. I think hard times can make you or break you and, hopefully, it doesn't break us, and I think losing is important because you find out a lot about yourself, about where you need to be, where you're missing the mark and I'm happy that's happening now. If there is frustration, I'd rather it be now than later.”

There is reason for concern.

Indiana opened the season considered a title contender after White helped the Fever get within one win of reaching the WNBA Finals despite enduring a series of debilitating injuries, including the loss of Clark.

Not much has gone right in this season's first month, though.

The Fever enter Thursday's game against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream with a 4-4 record, a half game out of the eighth and final playoff spot, hoping to snap this two-game skid.

Clark hasn't been her typical self, either. While the former Iowa star and NCAA's career scoring leader is averaging 20.1 points and 8.1 assists, she's also shooting 39.3% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and has committed 4.6 turnovers per game. She has also been criticized about her defensive miscues.

But Clark isn't alone on defense. While Indiana is scoring a league-best 91.8 points per game, it also is tied for the second-highest points allowed at 89.0.

What's wrong?

“We have all the pieces we need (to win), but it's knowing your role, owning your role and also just being tough,” Cunningham said. “We're just too soft right now, and that's not what our identity is, so we need to get away from that."

Cunningham also noted playing more types of defenses would help.

White believes varied defenses will come in time, but she first wanted the players building their confidence by doing a few things well. And while White wants to see improvements, she doesn't believe the struggles are related to effort.

“Often times when you see a ‘lack of effort,’ a lot of it is just indecision, right?" she said. “It's paralysis by analysis.”

Perhaps airing out those thoughts will be part of a longer-term solution to what they hope is a short-term problem. Cunningham and her teammates certainly hope that's true as they begin the defense of last year's Commissioner's Cup championship.

“No one wants to have these meetings, but everyone, every team has them,” Cunningham said. “Everyone has trials, everyone has shortcomings and I'm just thankful ours is at the beginning of the season and not during September, October.

"We didn't even watch film (from the Portland game), that tells you how bad it is because normally she (White) is watching every second of it. We wanted to flush that one, everyone knew it was bad. We all kind of watched it on our own and it's just unacceptable. We're too good to be playing like that.”