PHOENIX — Caitlin Clark had 15 factors, 12 assists and 9 rebounds and the Indiana Fever rallied for an 88-82 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
Clark was simply 4-of-14 from the sphere and 2-of-10 from 3-point vary. However she made a pair of free throws with 19.9 seconds to play to place the Fever up three. Indiana had trailed by as many as 15 within the first half.
Kelsey Mitchell’s basket with 35 seconds to play gave Indiana the lead for good. She made two free throws with 12.9 seconds to go to seal it. Mitchell scored 16 factors, all within the second half.
Aliyah Boston had 17 factors and eight rebounds and NaLyssa Smith had 12 factors and 15 rebounds for the Fever, who closed out June 7-4 after going 1-8 in Might. Temi Fagbenle had 10 factors for Indiana.
“When the challenges got here, we stepped up and we attacked them head-on. I could not be extra happy with my total staff,” Fever coach Christie Sides stated.
Clark performed all however 33 seconds within the sport regardless of not feeling effectively, Sides stated.
Brittney Griner scored 24 factors, Diana Taurasi had 19 and Natasha Cloud scored 15 for Phoenix.
Kahleah Copper, who entered Sunday third within the WNBA at 22.7 factors per sport, scored simply seven factors on 3-of-15 taking pictures earlier than fouling out within the last seconds, however had many of the accountability of guarding Clark.
It was the primary on-court assembly between Taurasi and Clark. Taurasi, 42, is the WNBA’s all-time main scorer and is in her twentieth WNBA season. She was a scholar at Connecticut when Clark was born. The 22-year-old Fever rookie stated earlier than the sport Taurasi was one in every of her idols going again to when she first realized in regards to the WNBA.
When Clark was drafted No. 1 total after a profession at Iowa that noticed her lead the Hawkeyes to back-to-back NCAA championship video games, Taurasi stated, “Actuality is coming,” when requested about Clark coming into the league. Later Taurasi stated that she meant that it will be a tough transition to professional basketball.
“It is wonderful to see what Caitlin has finished, and the one factor I actually love about her is she loves the sport,” Taurasi stated after the sport. “She’s put the work in, and there is been a variety of issues thrown at her, and he or she retains getting higher each single sport. Her future is tremendous vivid.”
The Mercury jumped to an 8-0 lead and was forward 49-38 at halftime, with Griner and Taurasi every scoring 13 factors. The Fever went on a 17-0 run to steer by as many as 10 factors within the third quarter, however Phoenix closed inside 67-64 on the finish of the interval.
“We had been emphasizing, get out and run, transfer the ball and get some good photographs,” Boston stated.
Taurasi stated, “We possibly settled a little bit an excessive amount of, obtained stagnant, had higher motion (within the first half). They had been working quicker than us.”
There have been two skirmishes in the course of the first half, each throughout lifeless ball conditions. Griner was assessed a technical foul whereas the groups had been lining up for a free throw within the first quarter, and the second occurred after a foul had been referred to as and the groups obtained into it whereas huddling close to one another underneath the Indiana basket.
Two gamers from every staff got technicals — Fagbenle and Erica Wheeler for the Fever, and Copper and Cloud for the Mercury.
Within the last minute of the half, Smith was charged with a flagrant-1 foul in opposition to Taurasi. Cloud later acquired a flagrant-1 for a foul in opposition to Katie Lou Samuelson, who made each free throws to chop the deficit to 78-77 with 2:17 remaining.
Phoenix hosts Connecticut on Monday. Indiana finishes a five-game highway journey at Las Vegas on Tuesday.