Fever-Mercury rematch – Two days after Myisha Hines-Allen was ejected in an 86-77 Indiana win that included multiple technical fouls, the Fever and Phoenix Mercury meet again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, June 24. The second matchup comes with key injury absences, altered li
The air at Gainbridge Fieldhouse still feels charged two days later. On Monday. an altercation in the fourth quarter of the Indiana Fever’s 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury boiled over into six technical fouls and an ejection. and it ended with Myisha Hines-Allen being sent off after picking up a second technical on a hard foul and shove of Alyssa Thomas.
Now the two teams return for their second meeting in three days on Wednesday, June 24—again in Indianapolis—hoping the same matchup doesn’t turn into the same kind of chaos.
For Indiana, Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Myisha Hines-Allen all received technical fouls following the altercation. Clark finished just short of a double-double with 24 points and nine assists. Afterward, Clark emphasized what the fight for teammates meant in the middle of the dispute.
“I appreciate (Myisha Hines-Allen) having my back,” Clark said. “It’s nice to have a teammate like that that’s always going to go to battle for their teammates. I thought we did a good job of refocusing.”
Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts pointed to the way the teams may carry the memory into Wednesday’s game. He said the chaos is likely to serve as a motivator—especially for the Mercury, who coughed up a 16-point lead.
“That’s the beauty of playing these back to backs. You really get an opportunity to look at the film and make improvements,” Tibbetts said. “It got a little chippy in the fourth. I’m sure they’ll remember it and I know we’ll remember it too… we’ve got a competitive group… They’re not afraid of the smoke.”.
The rivalry’s temperature isn’t the only factor reshaping this matchup. The Mercury are also dealing with gaps in their rotation. Dewanna Bonner is sliding into the starting lineup after Natasha Mack was ruled out with a left foot injury. Bonner will mark her eighth start of the season and the 411th start of her career.
Phoenix will also be without Monique Akoa Makani, ruled out with a left hamstring injury. Jovana Nogić and Sami Whitcomb are also out, with Nogić ruled out and Whitcomb ruled out with a left knee arthroscopy.
Indiana, meanwhile, is managing health concerns around its star. Clark has been ruled out of Wednesday’s matchup against the Mercury with a back injury.
With Clark out. the game’s early narrative shifts to the players still available and how each team handles the pace and the moments most likely to trigger retaliation. Indiana’s lead scorer in this rematch effort isn’t the person who lit up the first half of Wednesday’s earlier returns from the game itself: she will start on the bench.
Even so, Wednesday’s game has already been building toward a high-scoring, fast-turnover style. The Fever and Mercury traded buckets early, with both teams knocking down 3-pointers in the opening stretch. Indiana’s Caitlin Clark hit a shot from beyond the arc with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter and Lexi Held answered on the next possession to retake the lead. 14-13.
At the moment the broadcast story turns to the matchup conditions: the Fever host the Mercury on Wednesday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be televised on USA Network.
In the first half of Wednesday’s matchup. Indiana held a two-point advantage at halftime—after an exchange of blows in the game’s early minutes. Clark led with 16 points and seven assists, Kelsey Mitchell added 13 points, and Aliyah Boston had 10 points and four rebounds. Indiana held a 26-20 advantage in the paint but conceded 11 points on eight turnovers.
“As long as we stay disciplined, we give ourselves a chance,” Mitchell said.
That discipline becomes more than a slogan in a matchup that began with a fight. The Fever will be checking their own turnover pace even as the Mercury try to control how momentum swings. In the second quarter. Dewanna Bonner scored 11 points after entering as a spark plug; Indiana also drew a few key responses from its opponent in that frame.
Bonner made a layup with 4:49 remaining in the second quarter to come within one point of the Fever, 44-43. She was fouled on the play by Indiana’s Monique Billings and gave a triumphant roar. Bonner converted on the 3-point play at the free throw line to tie the game as boos rained down at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
But Indiana’s path has also included foul trouble and review-worthy contact. For the second time in the game, Caitlin Clark was fouled on a 3-point shot in the second quarter. She landed on Phoenix’s Valeriane Ayayi after the attempt with 6:25 remaining and with the Fever leading 41-38. Clark made all three free throws to push Indiana’s lead to 44-38.
On the other end, Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper was called for a defensive foul against Indiana’s Aliyah Boston. After a review. a Flagrant 1 foul was assessed for unnecessary contact after Boston’s elbow made contact with Copper’s face with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Fever trailed 100-98.
That chain of escalating moments matters because the Mercury have struggled to close games this season. Phoenix is 1-11 when trailing after the third quarter. and Wednesday’s contest has reflected a set of pressures where late-game control could decide whether Monday’s bitterness turns into a season-defining lesson.
At 3:24 to go in the game, Phoenix held a 100-96 lead. Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas led the way with 22 points apiece. Phoenix’s fourth-quarter issues have been consistent enough that the scoreboard itself becomes a warning label—one that can quickly tighten the margin for any team that loses composure.
The game has been relatively even through earlier segments. Indiana has outpaced Phoenix in made 3-pointers, 10-6, while Phoenix has generated 15 fast-break points to Indiana’s four.
Clark’s technical foul history adds another layer of attention for anyone watching player discipline. Indiana’s guard Caitlin Clark has five technical fouls this season. and if she reaches eight. she would trigger an automatic one-game suspension. Her technical foul received during a June 22 victory over the Phoenix Mercury has been under review by the WNBA after it was reported incorrectly that the technical would not be rescinded.
The WNBA stated that. as per league policy. after each game it reviews all technical fouls. and teams can provide additional information to request that a called technical foul be overturned. The league said it is reviewing a request from the Indiana Fever submitted to rescind Clark’s technical foul assessed at 07:57 of the fourth period during Monday night’s game against Phoenix.
Those wider stakes sit inside a rivalry that isn’t just about statistics. It’s about how quickly a competitive moment can tilt into something else.
The Fever’s Wednesday game also carries another thread for fans in Indianapolis: the return of a familiar face. Dewanna Bonner signed a one-year contract with the Fever in 2025 and briefly played in Indiana for nine games—three starts—before being waived on June 22. 2025. with Bonner saying the “fit did not work out.”.
Bonner later signed with the Phoenix Mercury and helped the team reach the 2025 WNBA Finals.
When Bonner returned to Indiana on Monday, she was booed after knocking down a 3-pointer in the second quarter. She finished with seven points and three rebounds off the bench in the loss.
Bonner, in her statement about leaving Indiana, said: “I appreciate the organization’s willingness to grant my request to move on, particularly at this point in my career.” She added, “I wish the Fever great success as they continue to build around this dynamic group of young players.”
With all of that stacked into one rematch. the Fever and Mercury enter Wednesday with a simple but difficult task: stay disciplined long enough for talent to decide the outcome. After Monday’s ejection and the flurry of fouls that followed. both teams have one more chance to prove they can keep the rivalry sharp without letting it slip into something darker.
Indiana Fever Phoenix Mercury Caitlin Clark Myisha Hines-Allen Alyssa Thomas Nate Tibbetts Gainbridge Fieldhouse WNBA WNBA technical fouls Dewanna Bonner injury updates