INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- The Indiana Fever were on fire Saturday night against the Los Angeles Sparks -- and they did it without superstar Caitlin Clark, who was out with a back injury.
The Fever took advantage of the Sparks missing stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, who were sidelined with lower body injuries. Indiana built a 20-point lead by the time the halftime buzzer sounded. They didn't let up after the break, outscoring the Sparks by 11 in the third to help secure the 111-87 victory.
All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell once again led the way for the Fever. Her 26 points was a game-high. Three more Fever players hit double figures. Aliyah Boston finished with 17, going 5-of-6 from the floor. Tyasha Harris put up 16 as she was Clark's replacement in the starting lineup, and Monique Billings continued her strong play with 15 points.
The 111 points scored by Indiana are the most for the Fever in a regulation game this season. The milestone is eclipsed only by the 114-106 overtime win against the Chicago Sky two weeks prior.
Fever head coach Stephanie White addressed Clark's latest injury during practice on Friday, saying the team is being extremely cautious with their superstar's health.
“We want her to be healthy, physically, mentally and emotionally, all the things,” White said. “I think it’s important to remember, again, when you’ve gone through injury and the traumatic aspect of injury, especially that she had last year, it’s ups and downs, physically, mentally, emotionally, and making sure that she’s 100% ready to go is the most important thing. Her taking care of that is priority for us.”
White added that the timing of the injury is helpful since the team won't play another game before heading to Las Vegas for next Sunday's match-up against the Aces.
“Obviously it’s a good time because we have all week next week,” White said. “So we’ll take this opportunity just to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens. It’s the same thing, long term health and wellness is the most important thing.”
The Fever tip off against Las Vegas at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.
