What a night it was for the Indiana Fever, who have been in cruise mode since the WNBA break ended. It's clear that they spent the break putting some work in, as the team's cohesion has continued to grow stronger every single game. This is no longer a bottom-of-the-standings team. It's a machine that just keeps moving from one opponent to the next in full domination mode.
Caitlin Clark has another great game
It was almost another double-double for Clark, who scored 23 points, nine assists, and five rebounds. It seems like every single game now, she's either hitting the double-double mark or just shy of it. Don't be shocked if Clark starts nearing consistency in the category and sets her sights on her second triple-double of her career.
The rookie was 9-19 from the field and 3-10 from three-point land with 100% shooting at the line. These stats could be considered an off night for her, which makes the 23 points even more impressive. At this rate, Clark will probably hit the 20+ point mark consistently every night.
What's more impressive is her ability to put the ball in the right hands. She's been throwing dime after dime to her teammates. As a rookie, she is leading the whole league in assists with 8.3 per game. In her last five games, she has had four where her assist number is over eight. It's to the point where she already holds the record for most assists in a single game. What she's doing is just incredible.
Indiana Fever isn't a one-woman show
As much as we all love to talk about Clark, it's time to peel back the curtain and recognize another player who has been balling this whole season. Kelsey Mitchell, who was acknowledged in our last Fever piece, has been on fire. She had 27 points this game with three assists and three steals.
Mitchell was a part of the 2024 WNBA All-Star team and has continued to play very well for this Fever team. She's currently averaging 17.5 points per game, but expect this to rise as she continues to kick into high gear. She was also the lead scorer against the Phoenix Mercury the other day with 28 points. She and Clark have been working well together and have become a solid tandem.
Lexie Hull also deserves a shout-out for coming off the bench and havng a 22-point night. The rest of the bench was goose eggs in the scoring column besides Damiris Dantas who had eight. Hull is only averaging 3.7 points per game, so tonight was fantastic for her. It's her highest total of the season, and hopefully, we can see more games like this in the future.
Can the Fever pass the Mercury in the standings?
Right now, the Indiana Fever sits in seventh place above the eighth-place Chicago Sky and below the sixth-place Phoenix Mercury. The Fever is just one game below the Mercury and has a two-game difference from the Sky. There's a chance they could tie records tonight with Phoenix.
The eighth-place team and the sixth-place team are set for battle later today, and a bad game for the Mercury could put them in danger of being even with Indiana. It wouldn't be shocking if the Fever took a leap into seventh as they've managed to beat some of the top-tier teams, including the fifth-place Seattle Storm tonight.