INDIANAPOLIS – With 1:14 left in the third quarter, Caitlin Clark hit her hands against her thighs in frustration. She had just missed two layups, fighting through a physical defense from the Seattle Storm, with no fouls called.

Fever coach Christie Sides received a technical foul about a minute prior for arguing the non-calls against Clark in the paint. The rookie said after Thursday's 103-88 loss to Seattle she felt she was "getting hammered” and appreciated her coach’s support in giving the refs an earful.

Clark was hit with a technical foul with 5:47 remaining in the second quarter after an altercation with former Fever forward Victoria Vivians. This was Clark's third technical in nine games, and second game in a row. She said she can’t help but stand strong when an opponent challenges her.

'I'm just so ready to win now.' If only Fever defense could get stops.

“In those moments, you just want to turn it into competitive fire and go out there and play,” Clark said. “ … I need to be able to find the second gear to kick into to help this team get a little bit better.”

The rookie out of Iowa played all but four seconds against the Storm, but her 20 points and nine assists weren’t enough to prevent a third straight loss as the Fever slipped to 1-8. Clark admitted she felt winded in the second half and may have even got “lackadaisical” on defense during Seattle’s 34-18 third quarter.

However, her fierce drive never waivered.

“I think being competitive is who I am, it's what I've done my whole career,” Clark said. “At times, there's ways I can probably channel that a little bit better, but that's just basketball. At the end of the day, that's never gonna change. I'm never gonna lose that.”

Even if Clark thinks she needs to find more productive ways to deal with her frustration on the court, Sides showed no signs she had any issues with Clark’s expressive on-court personality. In fact, she doubled down on what got her the third-quarter technical foul.

“I love her fire,” Sides said. “We've just got to get better with the officiating, we've got to get some of those calls. I feel like they're getting some calls … and I just don't feel like we're getting some of those.”

Of Clark’s 20 points, only five came from the free-throw line. The Fever shot 14 free throws in 40 minutes compared to the Storm’s 22 attempts. Sides and Clark have not been shy about their concerns with fairness when it comes to WNBA officiating through the first nine games of the season.

After two straight years with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, Indiana could once again be in a prime position to pick near the top of the board if wins don’t begin to come the Fever’s way soon.

There are still 27 games left in the season, and Sides is keeping that perspective in the front of her mind.

“When I took this job last year, they had won five games. We built a strong culture here that I’m so proud of, and you have to keep getting better,” Sides said. “We don't want to settle for 13 wins, so now we've got to add players and we got a great player in Caitlin Clark, got a great player in Temi (Fagbenle), we've got a great player in Katie Lou (Samuelson). Things change when you get those new players, so we come to camp and we have just a few days to get ready for our first game, and then we play more games than anybody — without practices — playing against the best teams in the league.”

Seven of the Fever’s eight losses have come versus teams with winning records. And it’s not just Clark who is staying competitive throughout the rocky start to the 2024 campaign.

“I am so proud of their fight,” Sides said. “They keep coming back, and I'm so proud of what they do. NaLyssa Smith, I took her out of the starting lineup and she's never done anything but come back with (the mentality of) ‘I'm gonna do my job.’ Caitlin's learned, she's fighting, she gets the whole 40 minutes, she's in the game on both ends, she's getting beat up, she keeps fighting.

“I've got some great people in the locker room, and we're going to keep fighting. We're going to keep fighting and it's going to click and we're going to get there, but it doesn't happen overnight.”

While Clark seems to be of the ‘All Basketball, All the Time’ mindset, there is an external force that motivates her drive. More like millions of external forces.

One such inspiration came in the form of ​​a young fan who held up a sign in the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Thursday’s game that said they traveled from Utah to Indianapolis to watch their "hero," play.

“At the end of the day, that’s why you play basketball,” Clark said. “Sure, the wins are great, but the way the game has changed over the course of my career, whether it’s college and now coming here, you look around at all these young girls. They’re coming to these games, and even after the games we lose by however many points, they’re still the happiest young girls in the world.

“They couldn’t be more thrilled that they’re here … they could care less how much we won by or how many points I scored or whatever it was. It’s just the experience and seeing us play, that’s just the coolest thing to me.”

The 22-year-old Clark, who knows what it’s like to be one of those young fans looking up to their idols, just doesn’t want to see them lose hope in the Fever.

“I hope our fans continue to come back, because this team is really fun to watch. I don't think we're really showing our full product yet, it’s just a work in progress. We're young, we're inexperienced, and I know we sound like a broken record saying that, but it's true.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at KSmedley@Gannett.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever keep fighting through rocky start