INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark sat at the dais Thursday night, staring at the stat sheet and reliving the eight turnovers and her two missed free throws with seven seconds left in regulation.

Then she took the blame for the Indiana Fever‘s stinging 86-84 overtime loss to defending champion Las Vegas.

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“Obviously, it just can’t happen,” the three-time All-Star said just hours after she was one of 12 players named to the FIBA Women’s World Cup team. “Those are free throws I usually make and certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead and kind of caused my pain there, for sure, so that’s on me.”

It wasn’t a great night for Clark by any measure. While she scored 20 points, had eight assists and made two go-ahead 3-pointers in the final 4 1/2 minutes of regulation, it was the miscues she rued after first watching a 20-point first-half lead slip away and then failing to protect a three-point lead in the final seconds of the fourth quarter and a two-point lead at the end of overtime.

Jackie Young took advantage of the first opening by scoring a franchise-record 15 consecutive points to finish the second quarter and start the third. Chelsea Gray then made the Fever pay for their late miscues — making a buzzer-beating 3 to tie it at 75 following the missed free throws and then making another buzzer beater to win it following Clark’s final turnover, forced by A’ja Wilson.

Clark went 7 of 20 from the field, 2 of 10 on 3s and had more fouls (four) than rebounds (three). Still, she didn’t make any excuses.

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“I didn’t know we scored nine points in the third quarter, but you know we still battled, still fought, we put ourselves in position to win the game,” Clark said. “And then, honestly, it was me that made the costly errors for us. So that’s on me to helps us win. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”

As usual, though, it wasn’t just Clark.

Kelsey Mitchell, July’s WNBA Player of the Month, missed one of two free throws with 9.2 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. And then, instead of fouling to prevent the tying 3-point attempt, or corralling the loose ball, Gray got her chance to tie the score.

“Aliyah Boston read it perfectly, her timing was perfect,” coach Stephanie White said, noting they gave up 18 points on turnovers, too.. “It’s a loose ball and it bounced their way. We’ve got to come up with that play.”

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White also acknowledged making her own mistake — not calling timeout at the end of overtime when they were struggling to get a shot, which led to Clark’s turnover.

And, though, that seemed of little solace to Clark, White saw it another way.

“Players already hate that they miss free throws, right? They hate that they miss plays,” White said. “You’ve just got to keep them positive in those moments.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

WWE SmackDown star Blake Monroe recently opened up about the creative process behind her current entrance music. The Glamour surprisingly revealed that she is directly responsible for a specific element of the song that many fans have actively criticized.

Monroe officially arrived on the Friday Night Show on June 27 and quickly established her dominance after attacking Giulia. The star has appeared in segments and promos, but she has still not competed in a televised in-ring match on the brand.

The former AEW star recently made an appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ropes, where she was asked whether she had any input in the creation of her WWE entrance theme, “Glamour Is Forever.” Monroe confirmed that she was heavily involved throughout the process and even addressed one of the song’s most debated elements.

Monroe explained that she deliberately wanted a signature opening line, “glamorous forever,” to make her entrance instantly recognizable. She cited WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus as inspiration, pointing to the iconic opening of her entrance music. Blake Monroe revealed that after receiving the first version of the track, she worked with friends with musical experience to refine it further by slowing it down and adding electric guitar before approving the final version.

“Yeah. So I connected with them. I sent them like a bunch of inspiration, which was Sabrina, Ariana Grande, and then kind of described my character cause the song, if you actually listen to the lyrics, is kind of like the way I dress and I act and everything. And then they sent me the first, and I said I wanted the star, which people hate, you know, I say ‘Glamorous forever.’ People like, ‘Why did they put that in there? They ruin everything.’ And I’m like, yeah, why did they do that? That’s crazy. It was actually me. I knew I wanted something signature at the start. You know, like Trish Stratus, it’s like, it’s just iconic. So, I wanted that, and then they sent me the first version, and then I got my friends who’s, like, big into music to kind of help me, and we slowed it down, and we added like electric guitar, and it’s pretty good. They killed it.”

You can watch the full interview below:

WWE star Blake Monroe made a major statement about the end of her AEW character

Blake Monroe signed with WWE last year in June after finishing her run with All Elite Wrestling, where she performed as Mariah May.

The SmackDown star recently shared her thoughts on closing the chapter on her former AEW persona, explaining why she believes it was the right time to move on.

During an interview with Danise Salcedo, Monroe was asked about leaving the Mariah May character behind and embracing a fresh start in WWE. She admitted that she views the conclusion of her AEW run as a fitting ending rather than an unfinished story.

“Our dearly beloved friend Mariah did pass away, she got killed off at the end there, but it felt like the perfect end for her and her story, and her impact on people. Now we start something new,” said Monroe.

It will be interesting to see what Triple H and his creative team have in store for the former NXT Women’s North American Champion and when she makes her official in-ring debut on SmackDown.

If you use quotes from the article, please credit TMZ’s Inside the Ropes and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.