The Indiana Fever won back-to-back games and continues to make a statement about their strength beyond Caitlin Clark in the WNBA rankings.
With their reigning Rookie of the Year sidelined for a fourth straight game due to a groin injury, Indiana defeated the Las Vegas Aces 81-54, securing their first win over the two-time WNBA champions since 2019. The victory served as a visual reminder that the Fever is not a one-player show.
Kelsey Mitchell led the team with a 25-point performance with six assists and two steals. Aliyah Boston added 20 points and seven rebounds, while Natasha Howard continued her quietly effective scoring run with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The victory lifted Indiana to 9-8 on the season, putting them in the hunt to contend for a playoff position as the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. The Fever’s surge without Clark has included arguably their biggest win of the season, defeating the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 to win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup behind dominant frontcourt play from Boston and Howard, who combined for 28 points and 23 rebounds.
Clark is still listed as questionable but is set to captain one of the teams at the WNBA All-Star Game on July 19, which will be against Napheesa Collier. She was the top vote getter with 1,293,526 votes to lead all players and vowed to attempt drafting each of her Fever teammates during the game.
Until then, the Fever will have six more games, starting with a July 5 game against the Los Angeles Sparks, the same team they lost to on June 26, despite Mitchell’s 20-point performance and double figures from four other teammates.
“I feel good. I’m going to be day-to-day from here on out, and I’m doing everything I can to put myself in a position to play the next game every single time. That’s always my goal: to be available for the next game,” Clark said after a loss to the Connecticut Sun.
“I’m doing everything I can with the medical staff to be able to get my body right to be able to do that. But, yeah, I feel good and just going day-by-day.” Clark missed five games earlier this season with a left quad strain that was suffered during a matchup against the New York Liberty in May.
The Sparks will next face an Indiana squad that has flipped a switch. Boston is finding her All-Star form, Howard is leading like a veteran, and Mitchell remains one of the league’s top scoring guards. Mitchell is leading the Fever in scoring with 18.9 points per game as Clark (18.2) was surpassed as the leader before injury.
