INDIANAPOLIS — With roughly five minutes to go in Monday night’s rematch between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun, Temi Fagbenle grabbed her 10th rebound for Indiana. The 6-foot-4 backup center passed to star rookie Caitlin Clark and glid so fast on the floor to be in perfect position for Clark’s return dish. The transition bucket gave Fagbenle 11 points for the veteran’s first-career double-double.
If there were meters to register the decibels in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, they’d read to identical levels as three minutes prior, when Aliyah Boston’s swat and Clark’s transition 3-pointer put the Fever up by two points. Fagbenle’s bucket put Indiana up by four, with the four-minute-mark fast approaching. The Boston-Clark sequence infused constant fourth-quarter buzz and nerves.
It’s why Fagbenle’s fifth basket brought an identical uproar. Indiana was in it.
Eventually, Fever fans were silenced by the 88-84 rematch loss. The Fever’s record is 0-4, following both losses to the Sun and to the New York Liberty.
It can be easy to chalk Monday night’s loss as the last straw. Whatever immunity the Fever have because they are young and new teammates has worn off. But Kelsey Mitchell and Fagbenle agreed, and Fagbenle was especially direct.
“We don’t have the time to have a bunch of practices and get that flow,” Fagbenle said. “We are doing that in the games, effectively. So it’s difficult, but we gotta get it done somehow… Each day is like an opportunity for us to get better… like you said the other day, stop wasting time. And that’s really what we have to do. Stop wasting time. We don’t have time. Now is the time.”
Fagbenle is in a similar position as the top overall pick in Clark. The backup hasn’t been in the league for four seasons, last playing for the Minnesota Lynx in 2019. Even then, Fagbenle only averaged 15 minutes per contest and played in 18 games during the regular season.
So, she does have prior WNBA knowledge but has to find value and consistency without any starting minutes. Clark is brand new, but has more minutes to acclimate to the athleticism in the WNBA.
Temi Fagbenle’s prior unguaranteed WNBA roster spot
Temi Fagbenle’s shelf life returning to the league had potential expiration dates and stress when the Fever would make cuts in May to get to 12 players.
Fagbenle signed an Indiana training camp contract in January. At that point, she had played overseas in her home country with the London Lions. With her WNBA spot unguaranteed, she could have had the most reason to be selfish.
Because of injury, the Fever were allowed to exceed the 12-player limit and she made it. But at the time, she could have had the most reason to be selfish, and yet her motto is about the team.
“We’re so lucky to have Temi here,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said afterward. “She left Minnesota and she didn't think she was going to come back… she’s been everything for us in the locker room, her veteran leadership. We talk to our players about these teams: the New York's, the Connecticut's, the Vegas’. We want to match their level. Temi stopped us tonight in the locker room. She said, ‘No, we are the level. We make that, we’re not matching anybody.’”
The veteran Fagbenle isn’t distracted by having to prove herself to others, she said. That’s the perk of having played years in the WNBA. But the other side of that is: Fagbenle’s performances weren't impeccable to begin the season.
She played and scored when the season-opener at the Sun was within single digits, but she picked up four fouls and turned the ball over three times. In both games versus the Liberty, she missed two jumpers, one hook, and three layups combined.
She surged on Monday, which represented the whole team’s improvement. Caitlin Clark agreed postgame that the Fever put up the most balanced scoring attack in any of their games.
Sure, the Fever led by four with about four minutes to go and deserves criticism for not sealing it, but New York and Connecticut are two veteran teams in the league. Monday was Indiana’s first halftime lead of the season. They got down in the third but took it back. Four starters scored in double figures. They're getting closer.
“I think you could see the progress this team’s making,” Clark said.
The Fever begin their three-game road trip at the Seattle Storm on Wednesday night.
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