Caitlin Clark Rebounds: Fever Star Returns to Form After Challenging Stretch

It turns out that Caitlin Clark is still good at basketball. Hours after the Indiana Fever star was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, she put up 21 points, five rebounds and a season-high 14 assists to lead her team to a 113-91 win over the Toronto Tempo . The Fever have now won four games in a row to improve to 9-5 and move into a tie for the fifth-best record in the league.

Clark's 14 assists on Tuesday are tied for the most by any player in a game this season, and are the second-most she has ever recorded as a pro. This was also her 14th career 20-point, 10-assist game, extending her WNBA record. Though she didn't have her best shooting night (5 of 15 overall, 1 of 8 from 3-point range), she either scored or assisted on 19 of the Fever's 36 field goals, and was directly responsible for 54 of the Fever's 113 points.

This time a few weeks ago, Clark was under intense scrutiny amid a very poor stretch of play that included a notable timeout argument with coach Stephanie White. There were unsubstantiated rumors on social media that White would be fired and Clark would be traded to the Los Angeles Sparks . The Athletic's podcast, "No Offseason," wondered if Clark should be benched. A column by Bill Plaschke in the Los Angeles Times called Clark a "lout," and a "spoiled brat."

Some of the criticism directed Clark's way was more than fair. She wasn't locked in defensively, she wasn't shooting the ball well and she wasn't always being a great teammate. During a 1-3 skid for the Fever from May 28 through June 6, she averaged 12.3 points, five rebounds and 7.3 assists on 28/27.3/88.2 shooting splits.

But some of the chatter was an overreaction to a few bad games, and now that she's playing well again, it has predictably died down. Over the last four games, Clark is averaging 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists on 45.5/32.4/81.3 shooting splits, and the Fever are 4-0. On Tuesday, she also became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 250 points and 100 assists in a season (13 games).

"Over the last three or four games, she's really looked like herself," Fever coach Stephanie White said prior to Tuesday's win. "The way she's moving, how explosive she's been, how fast she's been, on balance on her shot. I feel like she's starting to look like she should."

Let's take a closer look at how Clark has bounced back from a frustrating stretch.

Getting her confidence back

A few days after the Fever blew a 12-point lead against the Liberty , they were on the verge of blowing a 17-point lead against the Mystics -- in part because Clark missed two clutch free throws in the final minute. With 4.3 seconds remaining, they trailed by one, but had the ball after a timeout. Thanks to a miscommunication by the Mystics, Clark broke wide open, took a pass from Sophie Cunningham and buried the first game-winner of her WNBA career.

> CAITLIN CLUTCH CLARK 🤑 she sinks the game-winning three with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation. pic.twitter.com/T0L478mEib — Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 9, 2026

"This is what Caitlin does. She makes big shots. She has big moments," Fever coach Stephanie White said after that win. "It's a lot of work she puts in… every opportunity that she gets to hit a shot like that… is an opportunity to feel more and more like herself and get her confidence back."

To that point, it's worth noting that Clark has now matched the number of games she played all of last season, when she was hampered by an array of lower-body injuries. She's also dealt with some back trouble this season, which forced her to miss a game against the Portland Fire on May 20.

"Through the first quarter of this season, I've definitely gained some confidence in my body and really trusting it," Clark said prior to Tuesday's game. "It's not always something that I'm thinking about when I'm out there playing now."

Avoiding foul trouble

Clark has never fouled out since she was drafted in 2024, but she came close on a few occasions during her rough stretch from May 28 through June 6. She had at least four fouls in all four games, and five fouls against the Portland Fire and New York Liberty. The foul trouble limited her playing time and changed how she was able to play.

Most notably, she was limited to 22 minutes in the embarrassing loss to the Fire -- the second-fewest of her career -- and got burned on multiple occasions down the stretch in the Fever's collapse against the Liberty because she was afraid of picking up her sixth foul.

Over the last four games, however, Clark has reached four fouls just once -- in an overtime win over the Chicago Sky in which she played 40 minutes -- and has averaged 2.8 fouls per game. She hasn't been targeted quite as much in isolation or pick-and-roll, the Fever have done a better job ensuring she isn't left on an island and she has avoided silly fouls. All of which has allowed her to stay on the floor for longer stretches and remain aggressive on both ends.

Clark's playing time during four-game slump

- vs. Golden State: 28:39 - vs. Portland: 21:45 - vs. Atlanta: 30:55 - vs. New York: 33:56 - Average: 28.8 minutes

Clark's playing time during four-game resurgence

- vs. Washington: 30:50 - vs. Chicago: 40:07 (second-highest in her career) - vs. Connecticut: 36:04 - vs. Toronto: 32:12 - Average: 34.8 minutes

Attacking the basket

Clark has always been known for her 3-point range, but she's been a streaky shooter since entering the WNBA. That hasn't changed this season, but early on Clark was able to leverage her shooting threat to get to the rim for more efficient looks, and her finishing around the basket stood out.

During Clark and the Fever's four-game skid, however, she really struggled to even get to the paint, and couldn't make anything when she did. But over the last four games, Clark has figured things out again, and her paint scoring has helped buoy her offense when her shot isn't falling -- as was the case Tuesday.

Just take a look at these splits. She's taken 13 more restricted-area attempts in the last four games than she did during the previous four games. It's worth noting, too, that only two of her restricted area makes in the last four games have been breakaways in transition. She's been working off the dribble in the halfcourt to great success.

Period RA FGM RA FGA RA FG%

First five games

15

22

68.2%

Four-game skid

2

6

33.3%

Four-game resurgence

14

19

73.7%

While Clark notably shot zero free throws in the Fever's win over the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, she has been getting to the line more frequently over the last four games. Her 15 free throws against the Sky tied her career-high, and her 14 free throws against the Tempo were the third-most she's taken in a game. During her four-game skid, she shot a combined 17 free throws.

Period FTM FTA FT%

First five games

27

28

96.4%

Four-game skid

15

17

88.2%

Four-game resurgence

26

32

81.3%

An easier schedule

You can only play who is front of you, but it has to at least be mentioned that Clark's resurgence has coincided with an easy stretch of the schedule for the Fever, who haven't beaten a single top-eight team during this run, or played a team with a top-seven defense. During their poor run of form, on the other hand, they played two title contenders in the Liberty and Dream , and three of the top-four defenses.

Four-game skid

- Clark's numbers: 12.3 points, five rebounds and 7.3 assists on 28/27.3/88.2 shooting splits Opponent Location Record Def. Rtg. Result

Valkyries

Road

9-5 (6th)

102 (4th)

Loss

Fire

Road

7-9 (10th)

111.3 (15th)

Loss

Dream

Home

9-4 (3rd)

101.8 (3rd)

Win

Liberty

Road

10-4 (4th)

101.1 (2nd)

Loss

Four-game resurgence

- Clark's numbers: 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists on 45.5/32.4/81.3 shooting splits Opponent Location Record Def. Rtg. Result

Mystics

Road

5-7 (11th)

106.7 (9th)

Win

Sky

Home

4-9 (12th)

105.6 (8th)

Win

Sun

Road

2-13 (15th)

110.5 (12th)

Win

Tempo

Home

7-8 (9th)

110.8 (13th)

Win

The Fever play the Dream twice in three days this week, once at home and once on the road, which will be a good test for both Clark and the team.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/how-caitlin-clark-bounced-back-fever/)._