Liberty limit Caitlin Clark to her worst WNBA game yet in rout of Fever

Sandy Brondello felt that the Indiana Fever had started to figure everything out, that they had made strides in the two weeks since the teams last met. But it seems as if the Liberty have figured out Caitlin Clark and the Fever offense, too.

In their first meeting, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton held Clark to nine points and was a franchise-record plus-32. Two days later, Clark flashed her potential with a 10-point first quarter and 22 total. But Sunday, when the Liberty and Fever met for the third time in less than three weeks, Clark was nearly eliminated altogether.

She finished with a career-low three points before getting dinged in the ear on a screen in the fourth quarter, briefly going back to the locker room and later returning to the bench in the Liberty’s 104-68 win. Laney-Hamilton and Kayla Thornton mostly split the task of guarding Clark, and that allowed the Liberty to secure their best start (7-2) since the league’s inaugural season in 1997. The game doubled as the Commissioner’s Cup opener.

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“The way Betnijah guards [Clark],” Sabrina Ionescu said, “I’m happy she’s on our team. But collectively as a team, we understand who kind of the head of the monster is on that team, and trying to just make everything tough and difficult.”

Laney-Hamilton also led the Liberty with 20 points, while Jonquel Jones poured in 18 and snagged 13 rebounds. The Liberty shot 57 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3 in a sample that resembled the offense that propelled their run to the WNBA Finals last year.

Clark’s lone basket came on a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, but that was it. She shot 1 of 10 from the field and 1 of 7 on 3s. Late in the first half, she tried to drive for a layup and was blocked from behind by Thornton. Then, Clark missed a transition layup with Ionescu chasing her down. And with Laney-Hamilton picking up on the ball, opponents — such as the Fever — can’t start their offense until 12 seconds remain on the shot clock, Ionescu said.

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“It’s more of a chess match,” Laney-Hamiltion said of guarding Clark, “but … because I’m always having to do it, I’m kind of always ready and prepared for that moment.”

Instead, Clark became a facilitator, dishing out five assists and watching as NaLyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell helped the Fever trim an 18-point halftime deficit to 12 in the third quarter, but that advantage quickly ballooned again. The Liberty even shifted Laney-Hamilton to Mitchell in the second half.

“Hey, why not?” Brondello said. “That’s the luxury that we have.”

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This all unfolded 30 hours after the Fever’s game against the Chicago Sky included a twist of controversy when Chennedy Carter shoved Clark to the ground. One day later, the league changed the call from a common foul to a flagrant I. Carter refused to answer questions about the hard foul Saturday and later wrote on Instagram that she’d “rather you hate me.”

Fever coach Christie Sides commended Clark for how she handled the situation, for how she asked the official to review it and didn’t try to respond otherwise. But the Fever struggled to channel the progress from what ended as a one-point win into anything that became a tangible threat to the Liberty’s third consecutive victory.

Laney-Hamilton’s points, which tied her season-high, on 7-for-9 shooting continued an offensive emergence dating back to late in the 2023 campaign, once her role on the superteam — one different from her previous two years with the organization — came into focus and she became one of the Liberty’s most consistent scorers in the playoffs. They used her in isolation Sunday. They created scenarios where her back was to the basket, where Laney-Hamilton could weave and twist and weave again until finding just enough space.

So in plenty of ways, Sunday was déjà vu for the Liberty. It was déjà vu for the Fever — the latest reminder that it’ll take time for Clark to adjust — in their return to Brooklyn. There were still Clark signs and the No. 22 jerseys scattered throughout the crowd that’ll accompany them everywhere, but this time, the Liberty unveiled the most effective blueprint yet for containing her.

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