After a rough couple of games, the Indiana Fever capped off a three-game road trip with a much-needed win, cruising to a 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm in front of a rowdy full house at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. Indiana led by as many as 19 points in the matchup, as the Storm struggled to cut into the lead.
The Fever were without DeWanna Bonner, who has been absent for weeks amid reports that she wants out of Indiana. And, for much of the game, Indiana was playing without much fire from star guard Caitlin Clark, who put up a season-low six points.
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It was a physical game, with bodies hitting the floor throughout the matchup. Things got chippy from the jump — in this case literally, as the game started with a scrappy jumpball that went Indiana’s way. Then, after only two minutes of play, Aliyah Boston was called for a flagrant foul (specifically, a closeout violation) after blocking Nneka Ogwumike’s landing on a made three-pointer.
The two teams traded leads throughout the first half, with some impressive defense on both ends. But Indiana pulled ahead slightly, picking up a six-point lead at halftime.
Then, the Fever came out of the locker room swinging, pulling ahead by as many as 19 points in the second half.
Halfway through the third, Indiana nearly got slapped with another flagrant: Natasha Howard struck Ogwumike in the face while reaching for the ball, leading Ogwumike to stay down for several moments before walking off, holding a towel to her face. After review, the foul remained a common foul; Ogwumike returned to the court to take her free throws and stayed in the game.
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But, even with Ogwumike on the court, the Storm started to fall apart. Seattle, who went 1-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, made matters worse with 17 (forced and unforced) turnovers. Although back-to-back three-pointers from Erica Wheeler, who finished with five of Seattle’s eight threes, suddenly gave the Storm some momentum in the final minutes, it was enough to overcome the Fever’s lead.
Indiana, meanwhile, kept trucking. Boston finished with 31 points and eight rebounds; Kelsey Mitchell finished with 26 points. Lexie Hull contributed a double-double, with a career-high-tying 15 points — including two key threes — and 11 rebounds.
Missing in all of it was Clark, who put her worst performance this season, and one of the worst of her career. Clark went 0-6 from three, and 3-13 from the field overall. She did finish with nine assists, put also put up a game-high eight turnovers.
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Tuesday marks just the sixth time that Clark has been held to single-digit points.
Clark’s last strong performance was the Fever’s fiery win over the Connecticut Sun that turned into a brawl leading to multiple flagrant fouls and fines. Since then, Clark has struggled: She scored 11 points in Indiana’s loss to the Golden State Valkyries, and scored 11 again versus the Las Vegas Aces.