The Indiana Fever fell 88-90 against the Golden State Valkyries with a messy final play. The fourth quarter saw a close and heated contest, culminating in a two-point game with 0.6 seconds left, and the Fever having a last chance to level the scores.

The build-up to his began when there were 18 seconds left in Q4, and the Fever were down by three. Sophie Cunningham drove in for an easy layup, with Caitlin Clark giving her the assist. However, the one-point game turned to two after Gabby Williams scored one of two free throws after Kelsey Mitchell fouled her to make it 88-90.

With just 10 seconds left, and Boston in possession of the ball, the Fever Center was double-teamed in the paint, and a Hail Mary shot bounced off the backboard. As Cunningham jumped into the paint for the rebound, a tie-up for the ball led to a jump ball.

The ball went to Caitlin Clark after the jump ball, who immediately called a timeout with 0.6 seconds left in the game. The final play saw a rather chaotic formation from the Fever.

Clark was free on the other side of the court, but not in the vision of Cunningham, who passed the ball to Boston by the free throw line. Unfortunately, her shot bounced off the rim, and the Valkyries won the game, taking revenge for the 82-90 loss against the Fever last week.

That game had seen an altercation between Caitlin Clark and Tiffany Hayes. But coming into Friday's game, Clark brushed it aside and scored a team-high 16 points for the Indiana Fever, also making six assists.

With this loss, which ended its three-game winning streak, the Indiana Fever are now 4-3 on the season. The next matchup against the Portland Fire is just around the corner.

Indiana Fever Ready for Portland Fire Rematch

After a close defeat on Thursday, the Indiana Fever will be back in action on Saturday, facing the Portland Fire. The Fire is currently on fire with a three-game winning streak, and has won five of eight games so far.

In their previous meeting, the Fever defeated the Fire pretty comfortably, beating them 90-73, with Aliyah Boston scoring 24 points and having eight rebounds.

After that game, Fever coach Stephanie White reflected on the matchup, stating that the Fire tend to get aggressive as the game progresses. She also reflected on her team's performance, saying:

"They tried to get more aggressive, more disruptive as the game progresses. They've been in a lot of situations like this already in this young season. We were a little gassed in that fourth quarter too, but at the same time, I thought for the most part we did a great job of handling the ball, and then once we got in the fourth quarter, moving the ball."

Caitlin Clark is showing excellent form as of now, despite the back issues she is constantly dealing with. If Clark is able to play the next game as well, she will be a crucial player, as she has been averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds for the team.

Read More at Her Sports Nation!

Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Yask Kotak