INDIANAPOLIS — No one, other than those on the court, could hear what Caitlin Clark was saying as the Indiana Fever superstar screamed. It didn’t matter that her defiant declarations, evidenced by her flexing and stomping, were being drowned out by the home crowd she’d just sent into jubilation.This moment was about more than the game-tying 3-pointer she drilled with 3.1 seconds left against the Washington Mystics. It was a chance for one of the WNBA’s flag bearers to return to a familiar place, where her long-range shooting helped her bend the game to her undeniable will. Clark struggled from distance through the first 11 quarters of the season, missing 18 of her first 23 3-point attempts.She finally responded Friday by drilling five 3s in the fourth quarter to force overtime, only for the Fever to fall 104-102 to the young but poised Mystics. Clark’s emotions, which bubbled to the surface more than a few times as she drilled an array of deep 3s, were understandably muted after the back-and-forth contest.“That’s like the hardest thing as a basketball player is when you’re not making shots, to really stay in it,” said Clark, who scored 17 of her game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter. “So, I’m certainly proud of myself. Really, really battled.”Clark and her teammates had been nearly flawless, at least offensively, with the game on the line. Yet, the defeat still left Clark questioning the Fever’s defensive DNA.“It starts with me, and if we don’t have three clunky quarters, we don’t force ourselves into basketball heroics,” Clark said. “We don’t want to play that way.”