of Indiana Fever They took their biggest lead of the season against an undermanned opponent. Phoenix Mercury They narrowly escaped with a win in Indianapolis on Friday.
Caitlin Clark Fever 95-86 victory Clarke led the Mercury after Indiana led by as many as 31 points late in the third quarter. Clark recorded her fifth straight double-double with 20 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-7 3-pointers. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft also had 13 assists, six rebounds, two blocks and six turnovers.
“We’re obviously short on players so the more we can push the pace the better,” Clarke said.
Mercury is Diana Taurasithe WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, in three straight games Left lower leg injuryNatasha Cloud (left knee), Charisma Osborne (lower left leg) and Sug Sutton (right hamstring) were also out. Brittney Griner He went down early in the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a right hip injury.
Diana Taurasi: Will the injury affect his Olympic qualification?
Clark came out of the gates sprinting, literally, running from coast to coast at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and picking up seven of his 13 assists in the first seven minutes of the game. The Fever jumped out to a 20-point lead by halftime and then a 31-point lead with 1:55 left in the third quarter, Indiana’s largest lead all season. But if you thought Indiana was going to have a breeze the rest of the way, think again.
The Mercury responded with a 17-0 run to cut the Fever lead to single digits with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter. Kalea Copper He led the offense with a game-high 36 points.
But Indiana held on for the comeback. Kelsey Mitchell’s three-pointer with 1:33 left in the game gave the Fever lead double digits, 92-83. Clark’s pass to Mitchell was Clark’s 13th assist of the game, tying a franchise record. Clark is averaging 7.6 assists per game, second in the league behind Connecticut Suns’ Alyssa Thomas (7.9), and has now recorded double-digit assists in five consecutive games.
Mitchell had 28 points and three rebounds, and Aaliyah Boston (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Nalisa Smith (14 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles. The Fever outshot the Mercury in the paint 60-28 and outrebounded the Phoenix 42-30.
The Fever fell to 10-14 this season and will face a U.S. women’s national team that includes all-stars Clark, Boston and Mitchell, if healthy, Taurasi, Griner and Copper at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix. The Mercury fell to 12-11 this season.
