Tag: WNBA

By Lindsay Burke

The Indiana Fever fell to the Minnesota Lynx for the second time in three days after Sunday night’s 97-84 loss. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever in scoring yet again finishing with 26 points after going 7-for-12 shooting. It was difficult for the Fever to slow down MVP candidate Napheesa Collier who put up 32 points on the Indiana defense.

The Fever got off to a fast start much like they Friday night at home against the Lynx, but their pace quickly faded in this one. Despite taking another lead into halftime the Lynx came out fast and never looked back. They quickly cut into the Fever’s small lead and took full control of the game leading it the rest of the way.

One of the three hardship contract players for the Fever, Shey Peddy, is finding her comfort zone with her new team after scoring her season high 16 points. She’s been automatic beyond the arc after scoring three straight 3-pointers in her first game with the team. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard each added double figures for the Fever. Boston finished with 14 points while Howard added 10.

Aerial Powers had a solid game for the Fever after signing a 7-day hardship contract Saturday due to Sophie Cunningham being out the remainder of the season with an MCL tear. She drained five points and added five rebounds with three assists. It’s unclear what the Fever will do if Caitlin Clark returns before the end of the season. She missed her 15th consecutive game Sunday, but there was a glimmer of hope that she is inching closer to her return after being seen in shootaround prior to their game against Minnesota.

The Fever won’t be able to keep all three hardship contract players if Clark were to return and will have some decisions to make if it happens by the end of the season. Despite their loss to the Lynx, they still find themselves in the middle of a tight playoff race. The loss dropped them from the 6th seed down the 8th seed. The top 8 teams get a playoff bid and the Fever finish the season with the toughest remaining strength of schedule. Their final opponents combine for a winning percentage of .587.

The Fever return home Tuesday night against the Seattle Storm.

By Lindsay Burke

The Indiana Fever returned home to Gainbridge Fieldhouse after a week long road trip. The challenge ahead of them seemed like it would be too much given the fact that their roster is so depleted due to injuries. The Fever started the game off fast after three quick 3-point attempts from newly acquired Shey Peddy who quickly showed her comfort with her new team. The Fever were led in scoring by Lexie Hull and Kelsey Mitchell.

The Fever led for much of the entire first half against Minnesota who was without their MVP candidate, Napheesa Collier. After taking a 52-50 lead into halftime, the third quarter woes returned for the Fever. They allowed Minnesota to come back from as many as 11 points down after committing turnovers and missed opportunities. A late fourth quarter push led by Lexie Hull’s career high day, the Lynx walked away with a 95-90 win.

Not being able to close out games has been much of the Fever’s problem. They oftentimes start the game off fast, but lose much of the rhythm coming out of halftime. Kelsey Mitchell has been the team’s most consistent player adding 28 points. But defensively they get sloppy committing turnovers and no longer playing with quick tempo. Shey Peddy fit right into the Fever’s system adding 10 points after Odyssey Sims would exit the game and Chloe Bibby was declared out just after pregame warm ups after feeling pain in her left knee.

The Fever will look to bounce back in a rematch with the Lynx Sunday at 7 p.m on CBS.

By Lindsay Burke

The Indiana Fever’s late heroic comeback came up short in their 81-80 loss at home to the Dallas Wings. Having a short-handed roster showed gaps on the offensive side as the team trailed for much of the game. Sophie Cunningham filled in at point guard shooting 50 percent from the field after draining 14 points including the game tying shot just before the half after the Fever trailed by as many as 15. She’s the spark the Fever needs especially being faced with such a depleted roster. Veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell led the way finishing with 24 points.

Dallas kept swinging after giving up their double digit lead. Maddie Seigrist was their strongest shooter on the night and stepped up in a big way while facing their own injury woes competing without Arike Ogunbowale. She was 9-13 in field goal shooting and finished with 22 points. The Fever just couldn’t keep momentum going after Myisha Hines-Allen took a wraparound pass from Paige Bueckers to give the Wings a 78-61 lead with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter.

A missed free-throw with 14 seconds left in the game gave the Fever plenty of time to drive down the court for a game winning shot after Natasha Howard came down with the rebound. Once the Fever got down on the offensive side of the floor head coach Stephanie White opted to use her reset timeout just as Kelsey Mitchell was getting smothered by the sideline. The inbound ended back up in Mitchell’s hands who was trapped in the corner and put up a shot that landed short as time expired. Natasha Howard added 12 points and dominated in the paint once again with 12 rebounds.

Dallas’ Bueckers finished with 16 points and eight assists to lead her team to a 9-24 record. Their playoff hopes are diminished but can spoiler the rest of the way for potential playoff bound teams. The Fever had several chances to win this one, but put the pressures on themselves by committing 18 turnovers and allowing Dallas to capitalize on all that occurred in the first half.

The Fever look to bounce back at home against the Washington Mystics Friday at 7:30 p.m.

By Lindsay Burke

The Indiana Fever came into Tuesday night’s match up with the Los Angeles Sparks winners of five straight games. Despite knowing the Sparks’ struggles when playing at home this season, The Fever were faced with a tall task. The Sparks like to play tall and fast – things the Fever have had struggles with in slowing down for much of the year.

The Sparks led by as much as 13 at halftime. The Fever just couldn’t get any consistent rhythm going. The Sparks got multiple stops on the defensive end behind Cameron Brink’s solid protection of the rim. She tied her career high with five blocks on the Fever. Kelsey Mitchell was the Fever’s solid offensive piece finishing with 34 points on seven three-point shots made. This performance by Mitchell shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, she has been the Fever’s most consistent player for most of the season. She also hit her 4,500th career point Tuesday night.

Deep into the fourth quarter, the Fever closed the gap on the Sparks going on an 20-11 run and coming within six points, but time just ran out on them. They struggled in the paint slowing and couldn’t seem to completely shut down the Sparks’ drives. The Fever aren’t quite used to seeing the fast tempo that Los Angeles likes to run which was evident in their first two meetings.

Playoff Hopes are Still Very Much Alive

The loss knocked the Fever to a 17-13 record, but didn’t have an immediate impact on their spot in the standings. In beating Seattle on Sunday, they hold the tiebreaker over them. The Fever currently hold the fifth spot in the standings with the top eight teams clinching the playoffs. There’s still a month left in the regular season, so a lot can still happen. Head coach Stephanie White has her team playing some of their best basketball, but their most recent loss showed some holes in many areas. It very well can be due to travel fatigue as the Fever have been on the road for the last week.

They’re eager to get home to Indianapolis playing in front of their home crowd again. Every game remaining the rest of the way is equally important. A week ago they found themselves going back and forth between sixth and seventh place. No one would have thought that the Fever would be sitting in a fifth place position having been without their top player, Caitlin Clark. Her timetable for return is still very much unclear, although it’s possible she can be activated at the end of August. But if the Fever continue to play well and put some wins together, there shouldn’t be any reason to rush her back in risk of jeopardizing her health.

The Fever return to action Thursday night to wrap up their road trip against the Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. EST.

The Indiana Fever will try to avoid a three-game season sweep Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks. Riding a five game winning streak is just what the team needed after facing a rocky start to the season. Head coach Stephanie White’s squad has had to overcome a lot from injuries to players coming and going but now her team seems to be playing as a complete unit despite Caitlin Clark’s absence.

Clark has missed the last seven games, the most of her entire basketball career. Consistency in rhythm is what the Fever have lacked most of the season, but have recently put it all together in just the last week. Several players have stepped up in big ways from All-Stars Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell to the team’s newest members Sophie Cunningham and Natasha Howard. However, the Fever go into the second game of their west coast trip facing the Los Angeles Sparks, who have beaten the Fever in both meetings this season.

Both Mitchell and Boston are averaging 16.0 points a game while Cunningham is shooting almost 50 percent from the field. Newcomer Aari McDonald has made some noise for the Fever as well. She plays fast off the ball creating nightmare scenarios for defenses to keep up with.

The Fever have beaten good teams this season, but the tempo that the Sparks play at has created some problems for them. Kelsey Plum is a sharp shooter that the Fever have struggled with shutting down in both match-ups and to add to it, the Sparks will have a healthy Cameron Brink back in the lineup. One thing playing into the Fever’s advantage is the Sparks have struggled to win at home all season – a 3-9 record when playing at Crypto.com Arena. Another positive factor is the Fever themselves have had solid shooting and have cracked down on the defensive side of the ball. With no timetable yet for Clark’s return, the Fever hope to continue the momentum before heading back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse this weekend.

They face the Sparks tonight at 10 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network.