INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark scored 20 points and had nine assists without ever coming out of the game, but the Indiana Fever continued to struggle on Thursday night in a 103-88 loss to the Seattle Storm.
Jewell Loyd had 22 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 18 points and nine assists as the Storm (5-3) scored a season high in points. Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 for the Storm.
Clark, who had three 3-pointers, played in front of a near-sellout crowd, but could not prevent the Fever from falling to 1-8, the second-worst record in the league.
The Storm ripped off a 10-0 run in the first quarter and never trailed after that.
Tensions flared in the second quarter. After Clark hit a 3-pointer, Seattle's Victoria Vivians and Clark got a little heated. Both received technical fouls.
Seattle led 47-41 at halftime before opening the third quarter on a 12-2 run. The Storm made 12 of 17 shots in the quarter to outscore the Fever 34-18.
Loyd, the league's reigning scoring leader, scored a season-high 32 points in a May 22 home win over Indiana.
Fever forward Nalyssa Smith, back in the starting lineup due to Temi Fagbenle's left foot injury, scored 15 of her team-high 23 points in the first half. She also had 10 rebounds.
As the deficit widened, Fever coach Christie Sides was hit with a technical foul for protesting a non-call on a Clark drive to the basket.
