Dallas, TX—A sold-out crowd of hopefuls gathered at the American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday night to see the first matchup between the last two No. 1 overall picks of the WNBA draft. Instead, they watched a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana team devour the Dallas Wings behind the grit of Kelsey Mitchell and strong supporting cast.
The Fever came out hot in the first half and led by as many as 23 points while the Wings struggled to find a rhythm.
“We came out flat. It’s just disappointing that it took that (being down by 23 points) to get going,” said Dallas Wings’ coach Koclanes.
Mitchell and Aliyah Boston led the charge for the Fever through two quarters with 19 and 13 points apiece while leading Indiana to a 56-43 halftime advantage.
The Wings came out hot in the third quarter and m whittled the lead down to a three-point advantage of 62-59 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
Then the Fever responded with a big three from Sophie Cunningham to cool the Wings’ hot-streak and grab some much-needed momentum for the visiting team.
The Fever clung to a five-point lead at 74-69 to enter the fourth quarter but the Wings got cooking and took their first and only lead of the game at 80-79 with just over five minutes left in the contest.
The Fever rallied and finished by outscoring the Wings 15-6 to secure the road win.
“It’s a game of runs, you just have to make sure you have the best one at the end,” Boston said after the game.
Four of Indiana’s starting five finished in double figures including Aari McDonald, who had 13 points and six assists, Natasha Howard chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds, Boston finished with 21 points and six rebounds and Mitchell led all scorers with 32 points and seven assists.
Paige Bueckers finished with 27 points while dishing out six assists and Arike Ogunbowale and Aziaha James added 15 and 14 points in their effort that came up short.
Clark missed her second consecutive game due to a groin injury and the Fever’s head coach Stephanie White described her progress and return to play as “day-to-day.” There is no direct update on when Clark will play again.
The Wings are now 4-13 and will host the Washington Mystics Saturday at 7 p.m. CST.
The Fever improved to 8-8 will face the Minnesota Lynx on the road in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
