The Indiana Fever’s rollercoaster WNBA season took another dramatic twist in San Francisco on Thursday night as Caitlin Clark and company let a 13-point advantage slip through their fingers, falling 88-77 to an electrified Golden State Valkyries squad at the Chase Center.

All eyes were once again on rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, but the 22-year-old star struggled to find her shooting touch under relentless Valkyries defense. Clark finished the game with just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, failing to make a single 3-pointer for the first time this season (0-for-7). However, she still showcased her playmaking prowess, adding nine assists and seven rebounds to her stat line — but it wasn’t enough to silence the growing frustration among Fever fans who have watched their team lose winnable games late.

“We should’ve closed it out, no excuses,” Clark reportedly told teammates post-game, visibly frustrated after signing autographs for a packed Chase Center crowd before tip-off.

It was a night that started so promising for Indiana. Forward Aliyah Boston dominated in the paint, finishing with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds before foul trouble sidelined her in the crucial final quarter. Meanwhile, Natasha Howard chipped in eight points early to help fuel a massive 14-0 Fever run that flipped an early Valkyries lead into a 13-point Fever cushion.

But the Valkyries, riding the momentum of their best stretch this inaugural season, never panicked. Kayla Thornton led Golden State’s late surge with 16 points and six rebounds in just 20 minutes on the court, while Tiffany Hayes looked sharp in her first home game back from injury, adding 14 points and five assists off the bench.

Key stops, clutch buckets, and suffocating defense turned the tide in the fourth quarter. The Valkyries outscored Indiana 27-13 in the final 10 minutes, erasing the Fever’s lead with back-to-back buckets from Kate Martin and a timely run sparked by Carla Leite and Chloe Bibby.

The loss comes just days after Clark made headlines for a fiery on-court altercation that ended in ejections and fines — and the ongoing debate about how the WNBA’s brightest new star is officiated. To add fuel to the fire, Fever head coach Stephanie White was absent from Thursday’s game due to personal reasons, leaving assistant Austin Kelly at the helm on a night when experience was desperately needed down the stretch.

The Valkyries, now 6-6, have cemented themselves as the fastest WNBA franchise to notch five wins in an inaugural season — and this victory shows they’re more than a novelty expansion team.

Meanwhile, the Fever will head home needing to regroup quickly, with fans hoping Clark can shake off a rough shooting night and Boston can stay out of foul trouble.

One thing is clear: when the Fever click, they look dangerous. When they don’t, they look vulnerable — and the Valkyries knew exactly how to exploit it under the Bay Area lights.