Indiana Fever Coach Reveals Why Caitlin Clark Left Aces Game Early

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are getting set to face the Las Vegas Aces for the second time in three days on Friday night.

On Wednesday, the Fever dropped to 0-3 against the Aces in 2024 after an 86-75 loss. Indiana will have one last chance to avoid the season sweep.

During the loss, Clark gave many fans a scare as she headed to the locker room for a few minutes during the first quarter. But Clark returned to the bench and immediately came back into the game.

After the game, Clark revealed she left the court because she needed a breather . But Fever head coach Christie Sides has a slightly different reason for Clark's minor absence.

"I think she just needed a bathroom break," Sides said during Friday's media availability .

Clark was gone for two minutes of game time in the first quarter for her "bathroom break" but played the remaining 38 minutes of the game. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star had, arguably, her worst performance since the WNBA's return from the Olympic break, scoring 16 points on 6-of-22 shooting and dishing out six assists.

Clark is averaging the second-most minutes per game in the league at 35.8, behind Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is playing 38.6 minutes per game. Her workload certainly has caused some exhaustion, but the month off during the Olympic break has helped her find a new groove with the playoffs on the horizon.

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