In a week where the Indiana Fever took their first road trip out west in a three-game span that gave them their first win of the season over the Los Angeles Sparks, they compiled plenty of highlights as well as lowlights for a group that continues to grow amongst their league counterparts. Indiana began their road trip at Seattle in a contest that they lost narrowly with an 85-83 final before bouncing back days later against an LA team that is also searching for an identity this season.
The Fever, however, came away with a 78-73 victory before dropping their final road contest to Las Vegas. Sprinkled in between their scheduling have been moments of history. NaLyssa Smith notched her 1000th career point on Thursday at home against the Seattle Storm off of a shot from three.
Furthermore, Caitlin Clark became the first rookie and fourth player in WNBA history on Tuesday to record 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and three blocks in a game. Clark also became the fastest rookie to eclipse 100 points and 50 assists. Below we’ll get into what stood out as the good, the bad and all things to be hoped for over their latest competition.
Indiana Fever Victory Against the Sparks
As the Indiana Fever continues to improve, so too do the positive focal points to write about. But the leadoff this week is an easy one after their five-point win on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks. Backed by 2024 second overall pick Cameron Brink along with fourth overall pick Rickea Jackson, the matchup had plenty of current and rising star power as forward Dearica Hamby gave them all they could handle after finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Indiana, however, was up for the challenge as they held Hamby to one field goal in the second half, a bucket in the paint with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, before a three by Kelsey Mitchell midway through the fourth quarter gave them the lead for good. Back-to-back 3s by Clark, who finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, sealed the game as her jumpers from distance came in the final two minutes of play.
FEVER WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/xnmSDAQvv1
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) May 25, 2024
But as big players go, no one was more integral to their first W of the season than Aliyah Boston who has been covered by some of the league’s best interior defenders thus far while she finished the game with a season-best 17 points and six rebounds on 8 for 14 shooting. That step up in her play came also as a by-product of her ability to play alongside Temi Fagbenle (more on her later) in the post while NaLyssa Smith continues to thrive this season.
For Boston, it all came down to thriving off of what they were able to do on the defensive end of
the floor:
“I think we let our defense tell the tone for our offense. We came in in that second half and we played a lot better team defense than we did in the first half and that was able to get us going. Temi (Fagbenle) just being able to rim run and Caitlin (Clark) being able to find the open player, we just played team basketball, moved the ball and made them play on more than one.”
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston
Temi Fagbenle
On a team where Clark is beginning to make her presence felt this season and Mitchell is looking to build off of her first All-Star nomination last year, arguably no player has been more indispensable than Temi Fagbenle.
Fagbenle, who was signed to a training camp contract with the Fever in January, is making her return to the league after last playing in 2019 and has done so with force as she’s averaged 9.1 ppg (points per game), 5.6 RPG (rebounds), and shoots nearly 57 percent from the field in eight games.
Temi Fagbenle off the bench vs Los Angeles:
— I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) May 25, 2024
17 PTS
6 RBS
3 AST
1 STL
1 BLK
6-3 FG
4-4 FT
Indiana picks up its first win! pic.twitter.com/5fSqPW0RUX
The downside though is Indiana recently announced Fagbenle will be sidelined for the next two to three weeks with a left foot injury that she suffered in their 88-82 loss at home to the Sparks on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of recently moving into the starting lineup for the past two games and continuing a burgeoning connection between her and Clark.
Rest and Recuperation
While it may not be something done well in the last week or an area that shows up on the box scores, their start to the 2024 campaign has been a grueling one. Whether it’s been because of who they’ve played, how quickly the turnaround has been, or the lack of practice, it stands to reason that their 1-8 start can be partially to blame for the gauntlet they’ve come out of the gate against.
And keeping in perspective that they’re not the only team in the league playing a condensed schedule due to the upcoming Olympic games, a stretch where they went 11 games in 19 days would be tough for any team looking to gel early on. Throughout this span, they haven’t had a stretch where they’ve put together more than one day in between contests and just recently returned from a three-game road trip that found them playing three games in four days before dropping a home contest to Seattle, 103-88, on Thursday.
To add to their struggle, the scheduling of who they’ve played has been a factor as well as they, and the Chicago Sky, have squared off against three of the four WNBA squads that ended 2023 with a final record of .500 or greater.
The Fever Wrap Up Their Brutal Early Schedule
Along with that, they’ve also found themselves pitted against the three candidates for 2024 MVP: Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, and A’ja Wilson. Luckily, practice time and a moment to heal from early-season bumps and bruises are on the horizon. The Indiana Fever hosts Chicago at home on Saturday. This is before traveling to New York on Sunday where they will then end what has been one of the toughest starts to a WNBA season.
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