August 19, 2024
Indiana Fever come out swinging after Olympic break
Christie Sides: 'I'm so proud of our team'
After a grueling early schedule saw the Indiana Fever stumble to a 1-8 start, they have battled their way into the 7th position in the standings, putting them in playoff contention — the top eight teams advance.
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“One of my assistants was like, “Coach, it took us 40 games to get 13 [last year],'” head coach Christie Sides said. “That was what he said. It just feels really good. I’m so proud of our team. Golly, just the crowd — it just sounded amazing out there. These guys keep putting in the work. They keep showing up and just getting better and growing as a team.”
Following the Olympic break, the 13-15 Indiana Fever claimed two pivotal victories against top-tier WNBA teams — the Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm. These wins against higher-ranked squads have pushed the Fever closer to securing their first playoff berth since 2016.
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Rookie of the Year favorite Caitlin Clark has made an immediate impact, as many expected. After leading Iowa to the NCAA national title game, she was selected as the No. 1 overall pick and forced to quickly adapt to the WNBA. But clearly having close to a month off from gameplay did the rookie — and the Fever — a lot of good.
On Friday night, Indiana secured a 98-89 victory over Phoenix, with Clark shining in a 29-point, 10-assist double-double. All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell also contributed 28 points in the win.
“I think we came out with a lot of energy,” Clark said. “They’re a really good team and aren’t going to back down. We let them go on a run, but we responded. I’m really proud of how we kept battling and fighting.”
With the win, the Fever completed the season-sweep against a talented Mercury team whose roster boasts stars like Kahleah Copper, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi.
Clark makes history, Hull makes it rain against Storm
Clark’s historic season continued on Sunday afternoon when she broke the WNBA rookie record for assists, surpassing Ticha Penicheiro‘s 1998 mark in just 28 games during a 92-75 home win over Seattle.
“Ticha has been a fan of mine since college and has always been there to offer advice or congratulate me,” Clark said postgame. “Passing a legend like her is incredible. I’m just so grateful, but I hope there’s a lot more to come.”
The victory over the 17-10 Storm, who currently sit 5th in the standings and had beaten the Fever three times this season, was particularly sweet for Indiana.
Alongside Clark’s stellar performance, defensive standout Lexie Hull had an electric performance, scoring a career-high 22 points while going 6-for-7 from 3-point range and 8-for-10 from the field.
“That fired up everybody,” head coach Christie Sides said. “Lexie Hull puts in the work. She just needed to see the ball go in the hole. Once she found that, she caught fire…she was shooting some wide open threes, and she put it in for us. So proud of her.”
After the game, Clark shared her own admiration for Hull on social media platform X, posting: “This is now a Lexie Hull fan account.”
Clark finished the game with 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two blocks. She currently leads the WNBA in assists, averaging 8.3 per game, and is just 85 assists away from breaking Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas‘ single-season record set last year.
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“I just love passing the basketball,” Clark said earlier this season. “Honestly, sometimes it works better almost when they score, they take a breath for a second. I want to get the ball out and go. That’s the way I view it, let’s get the ball out, let’s go, let’s push. … I just want to set my teammates up for success … and I take a lot of pride in that.”
Additionally, Clark ranks 6th in the league for 20-point games this season, more than all other active rookies combined.
With just 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Fever have a realistic shot of making the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. The Indiana Fever have nearly a week of rest before facing the 19-8 Minnesota Lynx on the road on Saturday.
