Fever three-headed monster leads them to victory over Mystics
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Aliyah Boston won Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week and she showed no signs of slowing down on Wednesday night. She had another dominant game, controlling the paint on both ends of the floor.
But there was one thing she did for the first time in seven games: knock down a three-pointer. Katie Lou Samuelson threw her an overhead pass and Boston, without hesitation, let it fly from the left wing, and it was nothing but net.
Boston had 22 points in the night on 8-11 shooting and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. It was her second 20 point game in her last three games.
“AB (Aliyah Boston) just got confidence,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said. “She got confidence after the Connecticut game. She went into business mode. She’s just been business like and doing what this team needs.”
The Fever never trailed despite the game remaining close throughout, and beat the Mystics 88-81.
Boston was not alone on Wednesday night. Kelsey Mitchell also dropped 22 points on 8-11 shooting. Mitchell drilled four of her five three-point attempts, and was consistently getting downhill with impressive finishes at the rim.
Caitlin Clark also played well offensively, putting up 18 points and knocked down two three-pointers. She recorded her second double-double of her career, grabbing 12 rebounds.
Turnovers have been a problem for Clark so far this season and she had six more tonight. Some of them came on errant passes looking for Boston. But, Boston was quick to pick up Clark after the game.
“It’s alright, don’t worry,” Boston said. “I mean, you look at Caitlin and you look at the way she passes the ball, and so sometimes things are going to happen that way and that’s okay because we’re not going to let her hang her head. We’re not going to hang our head off of any missed passes because we’re still continuing to gel together and we know that she’s a great passer. So if she thinks she can get that ball there, she’s going to throw it. And if I miss it, then it’s, we’re good. We’re alright.”
This was the fourth home win in a row for the Fever, the first time that has happened since 2015. It is also their third win in a row overall.
The Fever are now 6-10 after starting the season 1-8 and are in sole possession of eighth place in the league standings, which would get them into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
“I think everybody just loves instant satisfaction in our world,” Clark said. “No one came in here and said we were going to be WNBA champions from day one in our locker room. That was never our goal. Our goal was to get back to the playoffs and we’re fighting for that every single night.”
It was another sellout at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as well. The Fever have now tied the 2002 Mystics as the only teams in WNBA history to have over 15,000 fans in attendance at each of the first eight games of the season.
The Fever now go on the road for five straight games, starting with the Atlanta Dream on Friday at 7:30 p.m.