INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark will miss her fourth consecutive game with a strained left groin for the Indiana Fever when they host Las Vegas.

The Fever announced Clark’s status on Wednesday, a day before their game against the Aces. Clark’s most recent absence, the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday, did not count toward the regular-season standings.

“She’s making progress,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “Making progress and feeling good are two different things. We want to make sure that she feels good. We want to make sure that she’s confident. We want to make sure that we’re not putting her in a position to have any setbacks.”

Clark, the first overall pick in the 2024 draft and one of the two captains selected for the WNBA All-Star Game later this month, never missed a game in college at Iowa or with the Fever as a rookie.

Cleveland, Detroit respond to Cunningham’s comments

CLEVELAND — The folks in Cleveland and Detroit are pushing back on Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with some civic pride after Cunningham questioned the league’s choice of expansion to those markets.

The social media accounts for each city posted responses to Cunningham, who said Tuesday she wasn’t sure “how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland).”

The X account for Cleveland posted a video of Fever star Caitlin Clark talking about having a good time in Cleveland during the 2024 Final Four in college, noting: “Sophie, your teammate doesn’t seem to think Cleveland is too bad!”

As for Detroit, the city posted on X about the former Shock franchise’s strong attendance record and noted: “Detroit is a sports town.”

The WNBA on Monday announced its plans to add three more expansion teams by 2030. The league already had plans to add franchises in Toronto and Portland next season. The three new teams will play in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030), giving the league 18 teams.

Cunningham, a seven-year veteran who spent her first six years in Phoenix, expressed skepticism over the latest choices, two of which — Cleveland and Detroit — have already seen WNBA franchises come and go.