Fever Earn Spectacular Victory as Playoff Push Continues

By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com

The Indiana Fever entered Wednesday’s matchup with the Connecticut Solar down 0-3 within the four-game season collection. Regardless of a lopsided report towards the Solar, the Fever’s outings towards them this season are reflective of Indiana’s sustained enchancment over the course of the yr, and culminated in an 84-80 victory within the fourth and closing assembly of the season.

“We’re evening and day completely different,” Caitlin Clark mentioned of the Fever progress since first clashing with Connecticut. “And that’s what you’re going to see with a younger group. Clearly, we’re younger. We now have some older gamers, however a whole lot of the those who we’ve in our lineup are youthful, so simply figuring one another out and studying, I feel, has received us a good distance.”

The primary matchup between these foes noticed Connecticut take the sport comfortably, successful 92-71. The tone set by that 21-point disparity evaporated within the second assembly, as Indiana misplaced once more, however this time by simply 4 factors. The third and most up-to-date contest noticed the Fever fall by solely three factors to the WNBA’s second-place Solar.

However simply 2:08 into the primary quarter of Wednesday’s sport, the Fever discovered themselves on the mistaken facet of an 8-2 gap coming into a timeout.

Popping out of the timeout, Indiana would grit its method to a 10-0 run. Aliyah Boston made a dominant publish transfer for a layup. Clark drained a 3-pointer that turned the shot that broke the WNBA’s rookie 3-point subject targets in a single season report. Kelsey Mitchell made a reduce to open up a path to the rim, producing an and-one for the Fever.

And all alongside Lexie Hull scrapped within the margins, grabbing offensive rebounds, leaping into passing lanes, and working because the Swiss military knife of Indiana’s protection. She drew the DeWanna Bonner project, and though she gave up almost 4 inches in peak, held Bonner to 13 factors on simply 4-of-13 taking pictures.

Hull, with averages of 4.6 factors and 1.6 rebounds on the season, is flourishing for the Fever at simply the precise time. After being inserted into the beginning lineup on Wednesday, her 17 factors, eight rebounds, and two assists had been pivotal in Indiana’s victory towards Connecticut. Of her eight boards, six had been off the offensive glass, and Hull’s two free throws with 19 seconds left on the clock put the Fever up by 4 factors and sealed the win towards the league’s second-ranked squad.

“Lexie stayed locked in and able to go when her quantity was referred to as, and he or she’s simply achieved every part that we wanted to do to get these wins and to achieve success,” coach Christie Sides mentioned.

Indiana is discovering a swagger on the proper time – in 5 Fever video games because the Olympic break, Kelsey Mitchell has been on a scorching scoring run. She completed with 23 factors towards the Solar, and is averaging 25.6 factors in Indiana’s present 5 sport stretch.

Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston are additionally each having fun with stretches of elevated play as Clark leads the workforce – and the league – in assists with 8.2 per contest, and Boston’s rebounding efforts have been pivotal in Indiana’s hunt for a spot within the WNBA’s playoffs. Boston has two 15-rebound video games within the final 5, however made her mark as a playmaker in Wednesday’s contest as she tallied a team-high eight assists.

The arrogance enhance that flows from good outcomes is powering a Fever push for playoffs as every participant will increase manufacturing down the stretch of the season.

“When you’ll be able to stack confidence from sport to sport, that’s the largest factor for a workforce,” Clark mentioned. “And particularly happening runs throughout the sport. That’s confidence, too. So I feel you’re simply seeing our confidence develop at a unique stage than it was the start of the season, I feel that’s what’s been motivating us most.”

Indiana will look to construct on that mojo on Friday as they journey to Chicago to shut out the season collection with the Sky.