The Indiana Fever look like a new team since the WNBA’s Paris Olympics break, winning their second consecutive game with a 92–75 home victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Guard play was the major difference in the Fever’s win with Kelsey Mitchell scoring 27 points (hitting 5-of-8 on 3-pointers), Caitlin Clark tallying 23 and Lexie Hull adding 22 (shooting 6-for-7 from 3). Aliyah Boston grabbed 15 rebounds for Indiana, which improved to 13–15 for the season (8–5 at home).
Clark earned her 225th career assist in the second quarter of the game, passing Ticha Penicheiro’s 1998 record for the most assists by a rookie in WNBA history. (Although there are conflicting statistics on how many assists Penicheiro recorded for the record — the WNBA says 224, while ESPN says 225 — Clark passed the record regardless.)
In addition to her 23 points, the rookie standout ended with nine assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
Both teams got off to a slow start, with a low-scoring first quarter ending with Seattle holding a 17-13 lead. But Indiana fought back in the second, retaking the lead in the final minutes of the half and holding on for a 35-34 lead heading into the locker room.
The Storm, who have struggled with three-pointers this season, had a solid start from beyond the arc, going 4-for-6 in the first quarter and ending with 5-for-12 at halftime. The Fever, meanwhile, struggled more from three: They went 0-6 on three-pointers to start the game before Kelsey Mitchell broke through in the second quarter, and finished 3-for-13 on three-pointers in the first half. Both teams were less than 50% on field goals.
The Fever came out stronger in the second half, going on an 8-2 run to start the third quarter that included a pair of big threes from Mitchell and Clark. But the Storm pushed back to tie things up again halfway through the quarter and kept Indiana from holding a lead for long. The Fever entered the final frame with a narrow 59-58 lead.
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