The Indiana Fever faced a significant challenge this week, going head-to-head with the two teams who battled it out in last year's WNBA Finals. Despite this, the young core is showing resilience and determination, proving that they can compete with the top teams in the league.
Caitlin Clark notched history on Saturday in the comeback win for the Fever against the New York Liberty when she put up her first professional triple-double — the first triple-double by a WNBA rookie ever. She made it happen after being one rebound shy from a triple-double two games ago. Clark also leads all players in the WNBA with 162 assists.
During the week three of Indiana Fever’s players were named 2024 WNBA All-Stars. While Clark was the leading vote-getter from the fans with 700,735 votes. Aliyah Boston finished second with 618,680. In addition Kelsey Mitchell was also named to the team. These three players have been standing out all season long for the Fever and now they get the opportunity to play with the best of the best during the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend.
With a record of 9-13, the Indiana Fever have made a significant leap in the Eastern Conference standings, now sitting comfortably in fourth place. This turnaround from their previous position at the bottom of the list is a testament to their development as a team.
July 3: Indiana at Las Vegas Aces
88-69 Aces
When the Fever traveled to Las Vegas, they played in front of the fifth-largest crowd in WNBA history: 20,366 fans. This was the largest regular-season crowd at a WNBA game since 1999, and Indiana continues to play in front of record-breaking audiences.
Against Las Vegas the All-Star contingent of Mitchell, Boston and Clark combined for 54 points and accounted for 78.2% of the teams scoring. Michell led the bunch with 23 points while Clark finished with 13 points and 11 assists, adding on another double-double on the season. Boston had 18 points and 11 rebounds and NaLyssa Smith snatched 14 rebounds.
The Fever were behind by as much as 11 early in the third quarter, Clark led them to cut the deficit going on a 12-6 run to start the quarter. Her playmaking abilities and scoring made the Fever look like they could possibly come back again after rallying back from 15 down to beat the Phoenix Mercury the previous week.
Headed into the final quarter Indiana only trailed by four points. But the Aces opened the final quarter on a 14-0 run and the Fever had no response. Mitchell ended up scoring the team’s first points of the fourth but it was too late and the Aces ran away with the game.
Clark struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes making only 1 of 7 from the floor and going 0-for-4 from long range.
“I think we missed quite a few shots that we usually make,” Clark said postgame. “It’s tough to beat a team like this not being able to score the ball at the rate they did. ... There were moments where we played really good basketball, our third quarter was really great and we come out in the fourth and we didn’t start well at all and the game was kind of over from there.”
But Kelsey Plum led all players with 34 points along with a powerful performance by A’ja Wilson who added 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jackie Young had 15 points and 10 assists and Kiah Stokes had 12 rebounds.
July 6: New York Liberty at Indiana
83-78 Fever
Against Las Vegas the Fever didn't have the comeback rally in them to return home with the win, but against New York they had it in them. The win against the Liberty snapped the Fever’s nine-game losing streak against them.
Clark posted the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in an all-around spectacular performance. She started with 11 points in the first quarter alone, making 3 of 4 from 3-point range. She reached 10 assists in the third quarter and passed the 10 rebound mark in the fourth.
“Obviously, it’s really cool,” Clark said. “My teammates have been finishing the ball really, really at a high rate. My assist numbers, that’s because of them.”
To tie the game at 75 with 2:31 left, Clark had a three-point play and Mitchell hit a 3-pointer. Boston then scored off a steal by Mitchell to give Indiana a two-point lead. Lexie Hull’s reverse layup increased the lead to four points at the 1:24 mark.
Sabrina Ionescu from the Liberty had a response with a 3-pointer but then missed one the next time down on the other end that could have given New York the lead. Boston hit two clutch free throws with 17 seconds left and Mitchell hit a two with 11 second left to complete the comeback and upset the best team in the league.
Fever head coach Christie Sides also was giving praise to the players because they outscored the Liberty by 12 in the final quarter.
“Caitlin with a triple-double, my gosh, that’s incredible,” she said after the game. “Holding New York to 16 points in the fourth quarter, that’s huge for us. That’s the No. 1 team in the league.”
New York made just 10 of 42 attempts from 3-point range. Ionescu scored 22, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton finished with 20 points, Breanna Stewart had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists and Jonquel Jones had 12 rebounds along with six points and three steals. But it wasn't enough as the Liberty snapped their five-game winning streak.
Boston scored 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and had eight rebounds for the Fever. Mitchell added 14 points, scoring in double digits for the ninth straight game. Smith added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
Game after game the Fever find themselves under big pressure in high intensity environments, but they continue to keep their cool and not wilt under pressure even when the game isn’t coming to them as easily. But as the season continues we see more of how the team is adjusting to these types of situations.
Next up the Fever continue their homestand at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as they host the Washington Mystics (5-17) on Wednesday with the hopes to keep the season series their way. After that the Fever will host the Phoenix Mercury (10-10) on Friday.
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