Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points Tuesday night as the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 106-92 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Mitchell scored 20 before halftime and finished 11-of-16 from the field with 4 3-pointers. It was her 17th consecutive game with at least 20 points, extending her own record for the longest such streak in a single WNBA season. A’ja Wilson owns the overall record at 20 games.
Advertisement
Mitchell has also scored in double figures in 48 consecutive games, the 10th-longest streak in league history. Tuesday was her 18th game with at least 25 points this season, tied for the fourth-most in a single season.
Caitlin Clark added 22 points and 10 assists with 4 3-pointers. It was her 10th points-assists double-double of the season and the 27th of her career, leaving her one behind Sue Bird for third all-time. Clark has 29 career double-doubles of any kind through 86 games, third in Fever history behind Aliyah Boston and Tamika Catchings.
Clark has assisted on 62 Mitchell baskets this season. That is the seventh-most baskets one player has assisted another on in league history.
Fever Take Control Before Halftime
Indiana opened the game with a 10-2 run and led 29-23 after the first quarter. The Fever made 7 3-pointers in the second, one short of the franchise record for a quarter, and a 15-7 run late in the period pushed the lead to 54-37.
Advertisement
Indiana went into halftime ahead 64-46.
The Fever made 11 3-pointers in the first half, one short of the franchise record for a half set on Aug. 18, 2024. They finished the game 16-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Boston had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Sophie Cunningham scored 12 points and made 4 3-pointers.
Fever coach Stephanie White said Mitchell’s current run comes from the same work habits she has carried throughout her career.
“I’m proud of her, but I’m not surprised,” White said. “She loves to hoop, man. She loves to play. And I know I say this often, but I’ve been watching Kelsey Mitchell for a long time. And the way that she worked when she was a freshman in college is the way that she works pregame or post, or pre-practice or post-practice, every day now.
Advertisement
“She wants to perfect her craft,” White continued. “We all know that chasing perfection, you probably never attain. But she keeps trying, man. And she is an incredible athlete, one of the best go-to scorers in this league’s history.”
Liberty Make Third-Quarter Push
New York opened the second half with an 11-2 run and cut Indiana’s lead to 66-57 with 6:51 left in the third quarter.
Mitchell answered with a three-point play. Cunningham later hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter to send the Fever into the fourth ahead 87-67. New York won the final period 25-19.
Advertisement
Clark said Indiana wants to finish with no more than 12 turnovers each night. The Fever committed 11 Tuesday.
“I mean, the law of averages are going to happen,” Clark said. “Like, we were 11 for 14 from three in the first half — maybe 11 from 13 — and we still finished shooting it really well from the three-point line. But I think at times we have to do a little bit better job of understanding sequence of the game. I think when we came out in the third quarter, it was like miss shot, tough shot, turnover. Then we kept fouling them and they were scoring. Then we had to have Steph use a timeout.
“So I think as a point guard, just understanding the sequence of the game a little bit better,” Clark continued. “And you want to get us into stuff. Get us into something we really know is going to work. Get us a quick bucket.”
Cunningham said the start of the third quarter was an area Indiana will need to clean up.
Advertisement
“Yeah, I think they went on — and I could be totally wrong on this — a 14-2 run. And we built that really good lead in the first half,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got to put the pedal to the metal. We’ve got to make a statement coming out of that third quarter.
“And so I think that’s just an area of growth,” Cunningham explained. “We all know it, and we’ve got to try to lock in and try to find a way to be successful of trying to punch first in the third quarter.”
Mitchell Extends Scoring Run
Mitchell also recorded the 252nd steal of her career in the second quarter, moving her past Katie Douglas into fourth place in Fever history.
Advertisement
Clark said Mitchell has been the league’s best scorer during the current stretch.
“Yeah, I mean, she just doesn’t miss. It’s pretty incredible,” Clark said. “She’s the best scorer in the league, hands down. It’s not even close.
“She just makes the game of basketball really pretty and really pure, and it’s fun to be in the backcourt with her,” Clark added. “Like, I just swing the rock and it’s like an automatic assist. And it’s fun just getting to watch her do her thing.”
Indiana reached 100 points for the 15th time this season, the most in the league. The Fever have won seven of their last nine games.
Advertisement
Ty Harris played in her 200th WNBA game and recorded career assist No. 500 on a pass to Boston with 8:39 left in the third quarter. Lexie Hull grabbed the 500th rebound of her career, all with Indiana. Mercedes Russell made her Fever debut with 56 seconds remaining.
Boston now has 469 career assists, seventh on Indiana’s franchise list.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu each scored 19 points for New York. Jonquel Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Fever improved to 21-12, tied for the third-most wins in a season in franchise history. Indiana set the record with 24 wins in 2024, reaching the mark in its 43rd game.
