Fever dates with fate

AAll eyes were on the Fever as the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) took a break for the Paris Games. On the one hand, interest was generated following USA Basketball’s decision to omit All-Star Caitlin Clark from the US roster; Speculation was rife about how the heralded rookie would use real-life stupidity as motivation. On the other side lay the silver lining; including her collegiate stint with the Hawkeyes, she had been playing continuously for about a year, and the silence gave her the opportunity to recharge.

As it turned out, the conventional wisdom was right on both counts. Clark was too media savvy to publicly acknowledge how much the opportunity to represent the old red, white and blue meant to her, but her actions underscored her feelings nonetheless. After a short break with teammates in Mexico, she went hard to work as the Fever wisely used the time the compressed schedule couldn’t afford them at the start of their campaign to build the kind of familiarity and camaraderie that makes winners.

If there was any doubt that Clark benefited from the interregnum, it was immediately erased in the Fever’s game against the Mercury this weekend. It is no coincidence that the latter boasted three Olympians. And, not coincidentally, she led against the competition for the third time in a row; her 29 and 10 raised her standards and brought her closer to breaking Hall of Famer Ticha Penicheiro’s rookie for assists, and kept her on pace to do the same with the league record – set last year by Alyssa Thomas – for dimes in a single season .

The most important thing for Clark was that the Fever kept their momentum; after a horrific 1-8 from the blocks, they’ve gone with a heady 11 and seven to set them up for their first play-off stint since living legend Tamika Catchings retired in 2016. She’s growing more comfortable by the minute with the blue and gold’s other stalwarts — and, yes, head coach Christie Sides — finally letting her, well, her. In short, she is exactly where she wants to be: in control and pushing them to meet their date with fate.

Anthony L. Cuaycong wrote In the courtyard since Business world introduced a sports department in 1994. He is a consultant in the areas of strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications and business development.