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The Indiana Fever snapped the New York Liberty’s four-game win streak behind a dominant performance by the Fever’s Big 3 of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Clark, Mitchell and Boston combined to score or assist 87 points in the Fever’s 106-92 win over the Commissioner’s Cup champion Liberty on Tuesday at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, extending the Fever’s single-season record of 100-point games to 15. Indiana’s high-powered offense shows no signs of slowing down.
“We just play with great pace in the first half and obviously it helps when you shoot the ball the way we did tonight,” Clark said after the Fever shot 54% from the field and 16-of-25 from the 3-point line in the win. “Our August (schedule) is really tough. We play a lot of the top teams in the league, so we’re going to see what we’re made of, and that’s what’s going to make you ready for the playoffs.”
Mitchell finished with a game-high 28 points, shooting 11-of-16 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc to extend her streak of consecutive games with 20 or more points to 17 on the season.
Clark added 22 points and 10 assists in the win, marking the 29th career double-double of her career and her 19th career 20-point,10-assist game.
Boston finished with 19 points and seven rebounds to improve the Fever’s record to 21-12.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu each scored 19 points in the loss and the Liberty dropped to 20-14 on the season.
USA TODAY Sports provided live updates for Tuesday’s matchup between the Fever and Liberty:
Kelsey Mitchell is up to 25 points as the Fever take a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter. Caitlin Clark has 22 points and nine assists, one assist away from the 29th double-double of her career. Aliyah Boston has 12 points and six rebounds. Breanna Stewart leads the Liberty with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Frustration started to boil over for New York in the third quarter. Liberty forward Jonquel Jones was teed up for arguing with the referee with 1:10 remaining in the frame as the Fever led the Liberty, 81-66.
It’s raining 3-pointers in Indianapolis. The Fever shot a staggering 79% from the 3-point line in Tuesday’s matchup against the New York Liberty to take a double-digit lead into halftime.
The Fever recorded 64 points in the opening half, marking their fourth 60-point half of the season. Much of that production came from the Fever’s Big 3 — Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston — who scored or assisted on 54 of the Fever’s 64 points.
Mitchell led the way for the Fever with 20 first-half points, extending her record of consecutive games with 20 or more points to 17. Caitlin Clark added 18 points (5-of-9 FG, 4-of-5 3PT) and six assists, while Boston added eight points and five rebounds. Indiana is collectively shooting 59% from the field and 11-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Breanna Stewart leads the Liberty with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. She’s the only New York player in double-digits so far. Jonquel Jones added eight points, while Sabrina Ionescu has seven.
It didn’t take long for Kelsey Mitchell to add to her record streak. Mitchell scored 20 points in the first half, extending her record of consecutive games with 20 or more points to 17 by halftime.
“I know this game. I just want to be a little more aggressive to start the game,” Mitchell said at halftime. “And so my footwork, my speed and just moving without the ball kind of got me in this position. And so I like to think as long as I keep moving and moving with (Caitlin Clark), great things can happen.”
The Indiana Fever have a six-point lead over the New York Liberty heading into the second quarter, thanks to a hot start from Kelsey Mitchell. The veteran guard scored 12 points in the frame, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line. Caitlin Clark added five points, as did Lexie Hull.
Breanna Stewart leads the Liberty with seven points, three rebounds and three assists. Sabrina Ionescu added five points, while Jonquel Jones has three points.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White spent her pregame news conference Tuesday denouncing “the hate, the fear mongering (and) the divisiveness” hijacking the league, vitriol that reached a boiling point over the weekend after DiJonai Carrington committed a hard foul against Sophie Cunningham on Aug. 8.
“It’s a shame we can’t have an opportunity to talk about what great basketball they’re playing because they are (expletive) playing,” White said during an impassioned speech ahead of the Fever’s game against the Liberty. “Every day these women put their ass on the line. Love will win. Grace will win. Humility will win, and kindness will win.”
White concluded her speech, “I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.” Read full story here.
The Fever and Liberty play at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
- Date: Tuesday, Aug. 11
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)
- Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN App
Watch WNBA games on Fubo
Ahead of the Fever’s matchup against the Liberty, Caitlin Clark admitted that she forgot she was called for her eighth technical foul of the season in the Fever’s 90-86 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday. The technical was later rescinded, allowing her to play on Tuesday.
“Obviously I think it’s the right decision,” Clark added in her pregame press conference. “It was quickly communicated that obviously what the ref interpreted was not actually the case of what happened. So I’m just happy they got it right and excited to be able to play tonight.”
The Indiana Fever are adding to their depth in the post.
Mercedes Russell, who was part of two WNBA championship teams with the Seattle Storm, signed with the Fever on Monday on a deal that runs through the end of the 2026 season. Indiana was granted a season-ending injury exception after center Damiris Dantas had surgery to repair her meniscus. Russell will wear No. 5 with the Fever.
A 6-foot-6 center from the University of Tennessee, Russell has not played in the WNBA this season. She played in 20 games last year with the Los Angeles Sparks, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game. In 2024, she starred in Australia, leading the Southside Flyers to the WNBL championship by earning MVP honors after posting 14.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in the finals. More details here.
The Indiana Fever have arrived at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse ahead of tip-off.
The Liberty are bringing their New York state of mind to Indianapolis.
Caitlin Clark (back) and Grace VanSlooten (illness) are both available for the Fever against the Liberty on Tuesday.
Caitlin Clark’s availability for the Indiana Fever’s matchup against the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Aug. 11 was in jeopardy after she was called for her eighth technical foul of the season on Sunday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension. But the WNBA rescinded the tech, meaning Clark is available to suit up on Tuesday.
Fever head coach Stephanie White said her team “was glad that (the league) came to a decision quickly.”
“It felt great. I certainly think that it was the right decision,” White said ahead of practice on Monday. “Every game’s important. I mean, you’re one game out of the playoffs and one game into the playoffs.”
The Fever (20-12) are currently sitting in fourth place in the WNBA standings, only half a game ahead of the Commissioner’s Cup champion Liberty (20-13), who are in seventh place in the standings after winning seven of their last 10 games, including four consecutive.
Breanna Stewart is averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game and leads the Liberty in both blocks (1.5) and steals (1.2). Guard Marine Johannes is coming off a career-high 27-point performance against the shorthanded Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, in which she recorded seven 3-pointers in the 111-71 blowout win.
The Fever are led by the All-Star trio of Kelsey Mitchell (24.2 ppg), Clark (21.6) and Aliyah Boston (16.9), who are averaging a combined 62.7 points per game. Mitchell has scored 20 or more points in 16 consecutive games, passing A’ja Wilson for the longest streak in WNBA history.
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