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    • How Indiana Fever Coach Caitlin Clark Celebrated Making the WNBA Playoffs
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    How Indiana Fever Coach Caitlin Clark Celebrated Making the WNBA Playoffs

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    INDIANAPOLIS — It was ultimately a less than ceremonial playoff victory for the Indiana Fever.

    But that’s exactly what Fever newcomer Caitlin Clark wanted.

    “Honestly, I was like, ‘Eh, whatever it is,'” Clark said before the game. “It’s all kind of confusing, I didn’t even know about the possibility of (clinching) until yesterday morning because there’s so much going on … so the sooner that happens the better, I think, I’m not really a party person.”

    More: Christie Sides is the first Fever coach to win this award

    Charles Barkley: WNBA players are ‘petty jealous’ of Caitlin Clark

    The Fever, who hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2016, clinched a spot in the postseason late Tuesday night. The Fever needed Chicago and Atlanta to lose, and both teams played at 10 p.m. ET on the West Coast. Some Fever players stayed up to watch, including Clark.

    “My reaction was I turned it off and went to sleep,” Clark said. “I didn’t check my phone until the next morning, and that’s when I had most of the messages and stuff. It’s definitely cool, especially before — it really doesn’t have to be last minute for us.”

    play

    Coach Christie Side was asleep as Fever secured WNBA playoff spot

    Indiana’s coach speaks to the media about the Fever clinching a spot in the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016.

    Others, including coach Christie Sides, were already asleep.

    “I had set my alarm to wake up at midnight, but I just turned it off,” Sides said. “I didn’t even look at it. Then I woke up this morning to some really great texts.”

    There were several reasons Sides decided not to look at the scores, she said. One was that she wanted to celebrate with the team — instead of alone in the middle of the night.

    Some parts of her even hoped that Atlanta or Chicago would win on Tuesday night. That way, with a Fever victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday night, they could celebrate with their fans.

    “I just thought we have such great fans that come in, and to just be a part of that (playoff clinch) with a win,” Sides said. “I’ve experienced that in Chicago (as an assistant coach), and you know, the confetti that falls when you clinch like that, that’s all I thought about. That was for our team that had never experienced that before.”

    Confetti or not, it’s a huge milestone for the rising young team. The Fever have accomplished something that hasn’t been done since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016.

    It’s the first playoff berth for Fever veteran Kelsey Mitchell, who has been with the franchise since 2018. Mitchell has seen the ups and downs, including five-win seasons and games in a barn at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

    Now they are safely in the play-offs and in talks to advance beyond the first round.

    But there is still much work to be done.

    “I’m happy with it, but you can’t just make the playoffs, you have to do something in the playoffs,” Mitchell said. “… That’s my mindset. But it was a good moment for us.”

    Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

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