Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 of her 28 points in the first half, and Caitlin Clark added 22 points and 10 assists to lead the Indiana Fever to a 106-92 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.
Indiana has won seven of its last nine, and this one came after coach Stephanie White’s 2 1/2-minute pregame outburst, defending herself while also calling out the sideshows she thinks have overshadowed the WNBA.
This time, it seemed to fuel the Fever, who shot 59% from the field and 79% from 3-point range as they took a 64-46 halftime lead against New York, which had gone 8-1 since losing by 20 to Indiana in mid-July. And this time, unlike last week against defending WNBA champion Las Vegas, they didn’t allow a double-digit lead to slip away.
Mitchell was 11 of 16 from the field and she, like Clark and Sophie Cunningham, each made four 3s on a night Indiana finished with 16 on 25 attempts. Cunningham had 12 points, and Aliyah Boston added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu each had 19 points for the Liberty. Jonquel Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana took control with a 15-7 run late in the second quarter, extending the lead to 54-37.
When Indiana’s 3s stopped falling in the third quarter, New York charged back quickly and cut the deficit to 66-57 with 6:51 to play. The Fever recovered and Mitchell’s three-point play with and Cunningham’s 3 in the final minute of the period made it 87-67.
Indiana never let the game get close again.
