The Indiana Fever have not had a winning record for more than five years. But now it is time for celebration as the Fever are above .500. The last time Indiana was above .500 was in June of 2019 when Caitlin Clark was a rising senior in high school. The Fever then finished 13-21 after starting the season 4-3.
After a slow start to the season, Indiana made much-needed progress and adjustments since being 1-8 to begin the month of June. At the Olympic Break, they were 11-15 and found a stride, but they still needed more wins to gain self-confidence, and now they have been 6-1 since returning.
In addition, they have won against every other WNBA team at least once this season, other than defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces; however, they still have two more games to play against them.
To finish the regular season, Indiana has seven games left and the next six games in a row at home in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. While they have yet to clinch a spot in the playoffs, if they continue to win games at the pace they are on now, they can likely see themselves competing in the postseason.
Aug. 26: Indiana at Atlanta Dream
84-79 Fever
The final closing seconds were a thriller. With no timeouts left, Atlanta missed two 3-pointers to get back into the game and grabbed two offensive rebounds before losing the ball. Kelsey Mitchell then hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to close the game.
Mitchell scored 29 points, while Clark scored 19 points. Aliyah Boston continued to clear the glass and grabbed 11 rebounds while also dropping 14 points. But Damiris Dantas came off the bench with a spark and scored 33 points.
Early in the second half, Indiana led by as many as 18 points until the Dream got within two to make the game close in the final minutes. Tina Charles led Atlanta with 21 points as the Dream set an attendance record of 17,608 fans — who had been moved to the home of the Atlanta Hawks.
With four minutes remaining, the Dream had the lead, but the connection between Clark and Lexie Hull brought the Fever back on top as they connected on multiple occasions for points.
Clark drained four 3-pointers, and she has now tied the rookie season record of 85 set by Dream’s Rhyn Howard in 2022. Howard finished Monday’s game with 16 points.
The win for the Fever was a much-needed bounce back after a rough loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
Aug. 28: Connecticut Sun at Indiana
84-80 Fever
At halftime, Indiana led 51-42, with three Fever players already scoring in double digits. In the first half, the team shot 55%, while both teams combined for a grand total of 21 turnovers.
In the second half, the Sun came back and turned it into a back-and-forth offensive game. Indiana led by two with under a minute remaining. With 24.1 seconds left, Sun’s Marina Mabrey had the ball stolen by Temi Fagbenle, which turned into Hull draining two free throws with 19 seconds left to give the Fever a four-point lead. Clark was then able to run out the clock after a missed shot attempt by the Sun. Neither team led by double figures throughout the game.
Hull found herself in the starting lineup for the second time this season, totaling 17 points and eight rebounds. The Fever thrived from behind the arc and drained 13 3-pointers. In addition, Clark set the WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers against the Sun with a triple in the first quarter, and she finished with three 3-pointers, which gave her 88 on the season.
Mitchell scored 23 points, marking her fifth consecutive game with 20-plus points, now a franchise record.
The stacked Connecticut team had DiJonai Carrington scoring 19 points, Alyssa Thomas scoring 17 points, Mabrey scoring 16 and DeWanna Bonner scoring 13.
With the win against the Sun, the Fever snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series. The last time Indiana beat Connecticut was July 3, 2021. In the win, they also snapped the Sun’s three-game winning streak.
Aug. 30: Indiana at Chicago Sky
100-81 Fever
It was the final regular season matchup between rookie sensations Clark and Angel Reese. In that game, Clark scored a career-high 31 points and 12 assists. Clark shot 8-for-14 and 5-for-9 from long range, along with her 11th double-double on the season. She is now the only player with three games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds a season. The other half of the rookie sensation Reese had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Chicago went on a 15-1 run to start the game which then led to Indiana closing the first quarter on a 12-2 run to make it a three-point game. But in the second quarter Clark knocked down two 3-pointers that began a 34-12 run for Indiana. Then the Sky came back to make it a five-point game at the half.
But Indiana got off to a quick start in the third quarter and did not lose the lead any longer. At one point, the lead was 27 points, as Indiana shot 48.5% from the field with 26 assists on 32 baskets. However, they were outrebounded 42-31.
The game was a sellout crowd of 9,445 fans in Chicago as the Fever blew out the Sky despite the first matchups being decided by within 10 points and a pair of one-point wins for each team. With the Fever scoring 100 points, it was a season-high for points for them and a season-high allowed for Chicago.
NaLyssa Smith had 14 points as Mitchell went 9-for-13 shooting with her sixth straight game of at least 20 points.
“I think we just understand each other a lot better,” Clark said about the Fever hot streak. “Having the chemistry and having the time to play with one another you just build confidence. I think you’re seeing that. ... I’m proud of this group. We've been sharing the ball, we’re taking good shots and that’s helping our transition game and it helps us on defense, too.”
Michaela Onyenwere led Chicago with 20 points and Lindsay Allen had 19 as the Sky were without Chennedy Carter who has missed some time because of health and safety protocols.
Sept. 1: Indiana at Dallas Wings
100-93
The Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale made a record-tying nine 3-pointers and scored 34 points against the Fever, but they still overcame her dominance and won.
Clark and Mitchell combined for 63 points against the Wings. Mitchell finished the game with 36 points on 12-for-22 shooting, paired with Clark's 28 points. This duo has been unstoppable since July, averaging 44.3 points per game.
With just under two minutes remaining, Mitchell drained a 3-pointer, giving Indiana a four-point lead that likely secured the win. In back-to-back games, the Fever reached 100 points.
Clark had another record-breaking moment in the win when she put up her 595th career points with a 3-pointer as she set the franchise’s rookie scoring record that has been held by Tamika Catchings since 2002.
Now Indiana is above .500 for the first time in years, and the face of their franchise is showing off what she was drafted for. They are 6-1 since the Olympic break and three of the wins have been on the road.
Next up for the Fever is a matchup between the last-ranked Los Angeles Sparks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Sparks are without rookie standout Cameron Brink due to a season-ending injury. The matchup is set for Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. as the Fever are 24.5 point favorites.
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