Credit: NBAE/Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever (20-19) closed out the home portion of its regular season slate with a 110-109 victory against the Dallas Wings on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the win on Sunday, this was the ninth regular season in franchise history reaching 20 wins for the Fever. Indiana will travel to Washington D.C. on Thursday to face the Mystics for the final regular season game before postseason play begins on Sunday, September 22. Sunday’s win locked in the Fever at the No. 6 seed in the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
The 110 points and 16 made 3-point field goals on Sunday tied franchise highs in a regular season game. Fever guard Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 35 points on 10-of-22 shooting to set the WNBA rookie scoring record with 761 career points. Kelsey Mitchell notched her second 30-point scoring outing this year and the backcourt duo became the first pair of teammates in WNBA history to record at least 30 points and each make five 3-point field goals in a single game. Mitchell and Clark also became the 10th and 11th players in WNBA history to score at least 750 points in the same regular season.
Fever center Aliyah Boston contributed 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block. On Sunday, Boston passed Tully Bevilaqua for 15th on the Fever all-time career points list and enters Thursday with 1,128 career points. Fever forward NaLyssa Smith and guard Lexie Hull also combined for 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Off the bench, Temi Fagbenle recorded seven points and three rebounds and forward Damiris Dantas put up six points and three rebounds in just 12 minutes of play.
Dallas outscored the Fever, 34-26, in a back-and-forth first quarter effort. Indiana responded quickly in the second quarter going on a 19-8 run sparked by a back-to-back jump shot and 3-point field goal from Clark early in the run. Clark and Mitchell both put up 12 points going into halftime and Indiana outscored Dallas, 31-25, which marked the most points scored in a second quarter this season. The back-and-forth battle continued in the second half as the game was tied up seven times in the third quarter alone. Dallas went on an 11-3 run midway through the quarter and Indiana closed the third quarter on a 13-5 run to outscore Dallas, 27-24, and lead 84-83 going into the fourth. With roughly two minutes left in the game, Mitchell hit a 3-pointer to put Indiana up, 100-96, then back-to-back 3-point field goals from Dantas with one minute remaining put the Fever up by eight to help clinch the victory.
Indiana’s win on Sunday extended the Wings (9-30) losing streak to eight games with one game remaining on the Dallas schedule. Three Wings players scored more than 20 points as guard Arike Ogunbowale and forward Satou Sabally each led Dallas with 27 points. The two combined for 12 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals in the loss, too. Forward Natasha Howard followed with 26 points, 10 of which came from the second quarter alone, a game-high 10 rebounds and five assists. Forward Teaira McCowan added 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals as well. Despite the loss, Dallas outscored Indiana in paint points, 54-32, fast break points, 20-2 and tied a season-high 28 assists.