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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever won their third straight game with an 88-81 victory over the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Here are three observations:
Fever wins third consecutive game, fifth in seven games
Indiana fevers are slowly but surely heating up in the WNBA.
After starting the season 2-9 with 11 games in 20 days, the Fever have won five of their last seven games, and three in a row. Indiana is in the playoff race, sitting in eighth place with a 6-10 record.
And they are getting closer to something they haven’t achieved in nine years: four consecutive victories.
The last time Indiana won four in a row was in 2015, when the Tulsa Shock was still around and Indiana legend Tamika Catchings was still playing. The Fever will play four straight games on Friday in Atlanta, a team they beat earlier this week.
Yes, all of their wins so far have come against teams in the bottom half of the WNBA, including the Dream, Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics. But racking up wins is crucial for a young team like the Fever, and they are doing it well.
The core four of the fever continues to set
For the second straight game, each of Indiana’s top four players finished the game in double figures: Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchel each had 22, Caitlin Clark had 18 and NaLyssa Smith had 11. While it’s the second straight game this As it happens, it’s still only the second time the Fever have been able to get all of their stars (two No. 1 picks and two No. 2 picks) together.
Clark and Boston’s pick-and-roll and post-tack game also continues to develop: Boston started the game 3-for-3 from the field while Clark started with three assists. Clark also flirted with a triple-double on Wednesday for the second straight game, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
With 11 games in 20 days, the Fever had a rough start to the season with little rest and little practice time. Now, with four games in 16 days, Indiana has had time to practice new offensive schemes and learn to work with the game experience to support them.
Aliyah Boston shows off her 3-point range
Watch out, Fever sophomore center Aliyah Boston could become a threat from beyond the arc.
Boston came to the Fever as a position that almost always played in the paint, but needed to have at least three-point range, in case of emergencies. She showed off her 3-point range last season in a July game against the Liberty: A last-second 3-pointer tied the score, forcing overtime against a top-tier WNBA team. That time, she jumped into the arms of her teammates to celebrate.
This year, it’s becoming more normal for the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Boston found itself open beyond the arc, took the ball, placed its feet just beyond the 3-point line and fired the ball toward the net. Whistle. The Fever bench jumped in celebration as Boston casually ran into the defense.
This season, he is 4-of-10 on his limited attempts from beyond the arc. It’s a new part of his game and something that could become a threat to opposing teams.
How many points did Caitlin Clark score?
Caitlin Clark scored 18 points and led the Fever in rebounding with 12 rebounds. He also added six assists with six turnovers.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark’s double-double helps Indiana Fever to third straight win