Indiana
Why Caitlin Clark went back to Indiana Fever locker room in season opener
Caitlin Clark explains what she learned from injury in Indiana Fever season
Caitlin Clark spoke for seven minutes on the opening day of Indiana Fever training camp. Here’s what she learned from an up-and-down season, and more.
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark has some new strategies to help keep her loose throughout games, and one garnered a lot of attention in the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings.
Saturday was Clark’s first regular season WNBA game since July 2025, when she suffered a right groin injury against the Connecticut Sun. She was limited to just 13 games last season because of various injuries that compounded and lingered throughout the season, including to her left groin, right groin, left quad, and ankle.
Clark, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes, went back to the Fever’s tunnel twice throughout the 107-104 loss, and she said postgame it was just to get her back readjusted. It’s something new for the Fever star after she missed most of last season because of various injuries, but she didn’t report any major issues with her back.
“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “It’s just that, getting my back put back in place a little bit, but other than that, I feel great.”
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Clark also started wearing a heat therapy pad on her back as well when she’s on the bench, but that doesn’t automatically mean an injury, either. Former Fever player Natasha Howard wore one while sitting on the bench the entire 2025 season, and she did not miss a game.
These back issues, Fever coach Stephanie White said, shouldn’t keep her out of the game.
“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White said.
Clark’s response postgame came after ABC’s commentators reported in-game that trainers were working on Clark’s hip flexor and groin area — the same that kept her out of most of the 2025 season. When asked about ABC’s in-game report, White said: “That would be the first time I’ve heard that.”
Fever communications staff added that they did not provide an official update to ABC on why Clark left for the tunnel, so everything reported on the broadcast in-game was speculation.
“I think it’s just part of maintaining the body,” White added of the tunnel trips. “… I mean, look, when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and we’re trying to get her body mechanically the way it needs to go. This is gonna be an ongoing thing, and not just her. We’ve had multiple players who have gone back, and we don’t have a blue tent, right, but they’re gonna go back and get it adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.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. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever star out for Saturday’s game vs LA
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White provided a Caitlin Clark injury update after the star guard left Wednesday’s game early with a back issue.
The Indiana Fever will be without Caitlin Clark when they face the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, June 27 (8 p.m. ET, CBS).
Clark exited the Fever’s 111-109 loss to the Mercury on Wednesday with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter because of an ongoing back issue. She will not play Saturday because of the injury.
“She’s OK. She’s gonna be out on Saturday, but she’s doing all right,” White said Friday.
“No indication (of how long she’ll be out). Obviously, it’s a good time because we have all week next week. So, we’ll take this opportunity just to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens.”
After Saturday’s matchup against the Sparks, Indiana does not play again until Sunday, July 5, giving Clark more than a week of rest.
What time is Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks game?
- Date: Saturday, June 27
- Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
- Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
The Fever and Sparks play at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 27, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
What TV channel is Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks game on today?
- TV: CBS
- Stream: Paramount+
A suspect accused of making threats and violating a protection order led officers in northwest Indiana on a chase that ended when he crashed into a tree and was ejected from the vehicle, police said.
The Portage Police Department said on Friday, officers were called to a residence on Fiesta Drive after complaints of threats and a protection order violation. Later in the day, at around 3:45 p.m., officers were again dispatched to the property for the same reason, police said.
As officers arrived on the scene, the suspect’s vehicle was seen traveling away from the home. An officer later attempted to pull the driver over along Willowcreek Road near 700 North. The vehicle made a U-turn, and the officer believed he was coming to a stop – but the driver quickly sped away, police said.
At the intersection of Willowcreek Road and U.S. 6, the driver went through a red light and struck an oncoming vehicle before losing control and slamming into a tree. The suspect’s vehicle rolled several times, causing the driver to be ejected, police stated.
The driver was airlifted for treatment, but his condition wasn’t immediately known. A female passenger was taken by ambulance to an area hospital with injuries.
The driver who was hit at the intersection was treated at the scene and released, police said.
A third vehicle in a nearby parking lot was hit by the suspect’s vehicle as it rolled, and a person inside that vehicle was hospitalized with minor injuries.
The incident remained under investigation as of Friday night.
Indiana basketball practice observations from June 25: Freshmen mixing in
IU has a game-changer, Thursday’s practice open to the media showed. IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman explains what he saw.
BLOOMINGTON — Whatever he can.
That’s the answer. The question — one prompted by an urgency to add strength to his game — is what Vaughn Karvala, Indiana basketball’s athletic freshman wing, is doing to add weight. IU’s highest-ranked signee in the 2026 class, it’s not hard to envision a role for Karvala in Darian DeVries’ second season in Bloomington. The player himself knows that starts with meeting the physical demands of the college game.
Which starts with building onto to his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame.
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight,” Karvala told reporters after practice Thursday. “That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster, everything.”
A three-year letter winner at Oregon (Wisconsin) High School, Karvala spent his senior season at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona, bolstering a profile that saw him ranked No. 62 nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
Karvala averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his final season with Oregon, shooting close to 42% from behind the 3-point line. He averaged another 14.7 points per game with Team Herro on the EYBL circuit.
He handed DeVries a major recruiting win last fall, when Karvala picked the Hoosiers over Xavier and Cal. Now, both at the rim and behind the arc, Karvala looks like a player who can contribute meaningfully in his first year in college.
“I know my athleticism catches the eye, but I can still shoot it,” Karvala said. “But another thing is just working on rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us.”
Whether on the glass or elsewhere, embracing the physical challenge of college basketball has been an emphasis for Karvala since he arrived in Bloomington earlier this summer.
That manifests itself offensively, when he tries to push the ball downhill and leverage that athleticism to attack the rim. It shows up defensively, where Karvala said he’s comfortable guarding the two, the three and, matchup depending, the four.
It even plays out on the glass, battling bigs up to including 7-2 teammate Samet Yigitoglu, who Karvala described with a smile as “the biggest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Physicality, 100%,” Karvala said, when asked where he’s challenging himself. “Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me.”
Which starts with the physical demand of more weight. Karvala said he’ll eat chicken, steak or “whatever we have in the locker room” that can help him in that effort. His focus, he said, is simply to “eat a lot, and work out every day.”
As that weight and strength begin to build, Karvala knows the next step — to mentally prepare for the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the floor in the Big Ten — is just as important. Preparing his body comes first. Challenging himself to toughen up once it’s required follows quickly after.
“Just getting fully there, mentally,” he said. “You’re going to have to push your body to get through this.”
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