It was a quiet week for the Indiana Fever, as they only had one game. However, this Fever team needed all the time they could get leading up to the game against the Minnesota Lynx, the top defensive team in the entire WNBA.
The game was memorable for the Lynx organization, which was seeking a playoff berth and hosted a jersey retirement ceremony for Maya Moore’s No. 23 jersey after the game. Moore was sitting courtside watching Caitlin Clark.
Growing up, Clark idolized Moore and expressed that she was her favorite player. The Target Center in downtown Minneapolis had a record crowd of over 19,000 fans.
With everything on the line for Minnesota, they were hungry for a win.
Aug. 24: Indiana at Minnesota Lynx
90-80 Lynx
The Lynx were coming off a dominant beat down over the two-time defending champions Las Vegas Aces the night before battling against the Fever and a six-game winning streak with five straight wins by double figures. The Fever also came off a two-game winning streak after returning from the Olympic break.
The game was back-and-forth, with the Lynx mainly controlling the pace and scoring. As the league's best defensive-rated team, this showed as the Fever struggled to make offense happen early on in the game, which also continued throughout.
With 7:49 left, the Lynx had a 10-point lead until Lexie Hull got in a pair of layups and a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 72-69 with 6:16 left in the game. Minnesota’s Kayla McBride answered with a jumper and then added two 3-pointers to begin a 14-2 run that suddenly made it a 15-point game with 3:23 remaining and no hope for a comeback for Indiana.
Once again, Clark found a way to break history in front of her idol. With a minute left in the first quarter, she scored her fourth point of the game on a mid-range jumper. With that jump shot, she reached 500 points on the season and became the fastest player in WNBA history to achieve 500 or more points and 200 or more assists. In addition, she is also the first rookie in WNBA history to reach these numbers. She also led Indiana with 23 points and eight assists.
Kelsey Mitchell contributed 21 points, while Aliyah Boston was all over the boards with 15 rebounds and 10 points.
But Indiana's kryptonite was the powerful Minnesota offense. Napheesa Collier scored 31 points, and McBride scored 19 points, eight of which came in the final quarter. Carleton finished with 16 points, while Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman added 10 points each.
Although the Indiana Fever (13-16) dropped a crucial game in their record-breaking season, hope is still alive as they sit at No. 7 in the league's current standings. The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the playoffs.
Next up, the Fever travel to Atlanta to play against the Dream (10-18) on Monday.
