INDIANAPOLIS – To begin back-to-back home games against the Las Vegas Aces this week, the Indiana Fever (19-18) dropped the first matchup, 86-75, on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever and Aces will meet again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell continued her streak of strong scoring performances on Wednesday with 24 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Mitchell has now scored at least 20 points in 12 of her last 14 games. Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark added 16 points, six assists, three rebounds, and eclipsed the 700-point mark to become the first player in league history to record 700 points and 300 assists in a single season. Mitchell and Clark also became the first teammates in WNBA history to each record 100 made 3-point field goals in the same season.
Fever guard Lexie Hull and forward NaLyssa Smith both added nine points in the loss as the two combined for 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Aliyah Boston finished with six points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Boston has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in three of her last four games and passed Victoria Vivians for 16th place on the Fever all-time points list with 1,099 on Wednesday. Off the bench, Fever guard Erica Wheeler added five points and one rebound in just six minutes of play. Reserve center Temi Fagbenle contributed seven rebounds, six of which came from the final quarter alone, and six points in the loss.
Indiana started the game off strong as Mitchell scored the first points of the night while Hull immediately followed with a made 3-point field goal, forcing Las Vegas to call a timeout 46 seconds into the game. The Aces’ first 10 points of the night were all scored by center A’ja Wilson on the way to a game-high 27 points to break the WNBA single-season scoring record. Wilson enters Friday night’s matchup with 956 points this season.
Despite 11 of Mitchell’s 24 points coming from the second quarter, Las Vegas led 41-32 going into halftime. The second half began with a 16-6 run from the Fever and Indiana reduced the deficit to 49-48 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Aces responded with a 15-5 run to end the game and outscored Indiana, 22-18, in the final quarter. Despite the loss, Indiana outscored Las Vegas in paint points, 40-24, and in the third quarter, 25-23.
The Aces (23-13) bench outscored Indiana, 30-11, led by 14 points from Alysha Clark and 12 points from Tiffany Hayes. Clark and Hayes combined for nine rebounds and four assists in the win. Wilson also pulled down 12 rebounds, seven from the first quarter alone, to go along with three blocks and two steals. The only other Aces starter to score in double figures was guard Chelsea Gray’s 11 points and added four assists, two blocks and two steals.