The Indiana Fever led by five points going into the locker room on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but they were frustratingly defeated by the Minnesota Lynx after a lacklustre third quarter in which they managed only 12 points.

In a losing effort, Caitlin Clark recorded a franchise-high 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, but she also acknowledged to reporters following the game that she needed to improve at managing her emotions when she was on the floor.

“I believe I was fouled a few times during the second half while making mid-range jump shots,” Clark remarked. “It occurs. They occasionally receive calls and occasionally don’t. That’s just the way things are. Though I felt I was bumped a little bit, I believe I settled a little too much for mid-raneg jump shoots, and I was genuinely attempting to shot-fake them to get them to foul me.

To be honest, I think I could have managed my emotions a little bit better.

A specific play from the third quarter best exemplifies Clark’s argument. Napheesa Collier of the Lynx reached out to Clark through a shotgun, but Clark never received a call from the authorities. The rookie for the Fever then went to the floor and lay there while the Lynx quickly made a two-point basket to take advantage of the numerical advantage.

Clark noted that she wouldn’t want to see her passion or the team’s zeal fade, even if she and the Fever squad as a whole thought that they needed to do a better job of halting the “snowball effect” of the third quarter.

“I believe there’s a limit, and occasionally your enthusiasm and feelings might overwhelm you,” Clark remarked. “However, neither I nor anybody else on our team would ever change it.”

For Clark and the Fever, these are important teaching moments before the WNBA playoffs start on September 22.Earlier in September, Indiana secured a postseason berth for the first time since 2016.