The Indiana Fever have looked like a new team since the WNBA’s Paris Olympics break, winning their second straight game with a 92-75 home victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Point guard play was the biggest difference in the Fever’s victory, with Kelsey Mitchell scoring 27 points (making 5 of 8 3-pointers), Caitlin Clark adding 23 and Lexie Hull adding 22 (making 6 of 7 3-pointers). Aliyah Boston grabbed 15 rebounds for Indiana, which improved to 13-15 on the season (8-5 at home).
Clark collected her 225th career assist in the second quarter of the game, breaking Ticha Penicheiro’s 1998 record for most assists by a rookie in WNBA history. (Though there are conflicting statistics on how many assists Penicheiro recorded for the record — the WNBA says 224, while ESPN says 225 — Clark broke the record anyway.)
In addition to her 23 points, the standout rookie finished with nine assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
Both teams started the game at a slow pace, with a low-scoring first quarter that ended with Seattle holding a 17-13 lead. But Indiana rallied in the second, regained the lead in the final minutes of the half and held a 35-34 lead going into the locker room.
The Storm, who have struggled from 3-point range this season, got off to a solid start from beyond the arc, going 4-for-6 in the first quarter and finishing 5-for-12 at halftime. The Fever, meanwhile, struggled more from 3: They started the game 0-for-6 on 3s before Kelsey Mitchell broke through in the second quarter, and finished 3-for-13 on 3s in the first half. Both teams shot less than 50 percent from the field.
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 3-pointers from Mitchell and Clark. But the Storm fought back to tie the score midway through the quarter and prevented Indiana from holding the lead for long. The Fever entered the fourth quarter with a slim 59-58 lead.
