SAN FRANCISCO — In a stop-and-go game because of shot clock issues and reviews, the Indiana Fever fell to the Golden State Valkyries, 75-63, on Sunday night.
The Fever were swept for the first time this season with the loss, as Golden State has now won all three games in the regular-season series. Indiana is 21-19.
Indiana will finish its road trip on Tuesday at Phoenix.
Here are three observations:
Shot clock issues impact first half of game
The number of stoppages in the first half made it take nearly the same amount of time as an entire game. The first half, after five clock stoppages, four timeouts, and four reviews (two referee-initiated, two challenges), took 92 minutes. A typical WNBA game takes about two hours.
The clock issues started early, as officials stopped the game on the Fever’s first possession after the shot clock did not reset. There was a delay of about five minutes before play resumed.
One minute of game time later, the clocks malfunctioned again. This delay took a whopping 20 minutes, and some players went back to the locker room to wait out the delay. The Valkyries pointed to a power outage that happened earlier in the morning as the reason for the shot clock malfunctioning. Employees installed temporary shot clocks on the baseline, turning off the over-basket shot clocks entirely.
There continued to be minor clock issues, even with the baseline shot clocks, for a total of five stoppages in play for technical difficulties. Add in four timeouts and four reviews (two referee-initiated, two challenges) and there could be a new record for the longest first half in WNBA history.
That stop-and-go timing definitely impacted the Fever’s rhythm; they shot just 35% from the field in the first quarter, while the Valkyries made seven 3-pointers in those same 10 minutes of game time.
Fever see-saw in standings again
The margin between the 6th-8th place spots in the WNBA standings is less than 1.5 games, and the Fever felt the brunt of that on Sunday night.
With their loss to the Valkyries, the Fever will drop from 6th place to 8th — the final playoff spot — with four games left in the season. This was one of those games that was crucial for the Fever, especially considering their proximity in the standings to the Valkyries. Golden State has swept Indiana in the three-game season series, and they will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Indiana is now 21-19, behind Seattle (6th at 22-19) and Golden State (7th at 21-18). The Fever are still two games ahead of 9th-place Los Angeles for the final playoff spot.
The Fever will have the extra step of finishing at least one game ahead of the Sparks, however, as Los Angeles holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Indiana has some winnable games remaining on its schedule: it is 1-1 in the season series with Phoenix, its next opponent, and has Chicago, a team it has beaten four times, after that. Indiana will also play Washington, which is already eliminated from playoff contention, and Minnesota, which already clinched the top seed in the playoffs.
Valkyries obliterate Fever from 3-point range
The zone defense wasn’t working for Indiana on Sunday night, and Golden State took full advantage.
Through the stop-and-go first quarter, Golden State managed to stay in a rhythm from 3-point range. They exploited Indiana’s zone for catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, going a whopping 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes.
Golden State continued its hot shooting from 3-point range throughout the game, finishing with a 12-of-19 mark. Overall, the Valkyries shot over 50% from the field.
Indiana, on the other hand, only made six 3-pointers on a 20% clip, shooting 32% overall from the field.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.