Does Caitlin Clark need to control her emotions?

When considering the idea that she scored 25 points while grabbing eight rebounds and providing eight assists, one can sympathize with Caitlin Clark for being frustrated by what ultimately turned out to be a loss for her and the Indiana Fever. She also managed to set a franchise record for the most threes in a season in a losing effort. On the other hand, there’s a point when anger does no good.

Caitlin Clark discusses emotional control...or lack thereof

On Friday night, the Indiana Fever took a five-point lead into the locker room at halftime and looked to be on their way to another all-important win. Unfortunately, the break did not have the desired effect as the Fever went on to score just 12 points in the third quarter, eventually falling to the Minnesota Lynx 99-88. Frustrating, to say the least. As mentioned before, Caitlin Clark was as expected, prolific. Sadly, her contribution was not enough to inspire the Fever to another win and it was something that she admitted post-Game had a negative effect on her.

Indeed, speaking with the media after the loss, Clark spoke of a need to do better at controlling her emotions. “I thought I got fouled a couple times there in the second half on mid-range jump shots,” Clark said. “It happens. Sometimes they get calls, sometimes they don’t. It is what it is. I think I settled a little bit too much for mid-range jump shots, but I thought I got bumped a little bit and I was honestly trying to shot-fake them to get them to foul me. ...I mean, I think I could have done a little bit better of a job controlling my own emotions.”

Where specifics are concerned, there was one play that stood out in regards to Clark’s declaration. During the third quarter, Clark faked a shot and in the process drew contact from Lynx star Napheesa Collier, but didn’t get the call from the officials. In somewhat strange fashion, the former Iowa star fell to the ground and remained there for longer than she should have. Needless to say, the Lynx took advantage of her lapse for a quick and easy two points on the opposite end of the court.

To her credit, Clark acknowledged that both she and the team have to be accountable for the third-quarter collapse, however, she was quick to point out that she does to see a change in her passion or the team’s going forward. “I think there’s a line and sometimes your passion, your emotion can get to you,” Clark said. “But that’s never something I would ever change or anybody on our team would change.” It goes without saying that there is a learning curve involved for Clark and Co. but it is one that they will have to complete quickly as they are now heading to the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016.