It seems wherever the Fever are playing, there is bound to be drama. Although the Indiana Fever did get the best of the Phoenix Mercury, Kelsey Mitchell did bear the brunt of it. Quite Literally.
It was the fourth quarter. With almost six minutes left to play. Mercury’s Kahleah Copper went for a layup. Kelsey Mitchell attempted a block. In the end, the Fever guard took an elbow to the face. Mitchell was visibly shaken and down on the floor for a while, holding her nose. She was later seen with an apparent cut to the lip. Her teammates, especially Sophie Cunningham, looked visibly concerned.
The bucket was ruled out for Copper and the Mercury. In the end, it was just awarded as a personal foul against Copper. The officials did review it for a while, but it seems it was not deemed an intentional act. This was Copper’s fifth personal foul. She came very close to joining her teammate Hines -Allen in fouling out of the game.
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This fiery game had everything. Eyeballs were locked at each other, elbows were shoved, and words were exchanged. The calamitous fourth quarter saw six technical fouls and one ejection of Hines-Allen. Sophie Cunningham and Dewanna Bonner were also seen in a heated exchange earlier. Quite ironically, the game did start on a lighter note.
In the first quarter, the ball got stuck between the rim and the glass. The man who took the mop, jumped, and got the ball out was none other than Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. The players enjoyed it. The fans enjoyed it even more.
Although the Mercury led the game by 16 points at one point in time, the Fever took control in the third quarter and closed the game. They resisted a late charge by Mercury in the fourth quarter. Mitchell and Clark scored 16 of Indiana’s 27 field goals. Clark finished with 24 points and Mitchell with 22. The Fever had an impressive 42.2 FG% and got ten more rebounds than the Mercury, at 39.
It Was a Record-Setting Night for Players on Both Teams
Apart from the chaos, the match also witnessed players from both sides hit individual record milestones.
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Caitlin Clark became the player with the most consecutive 20-point and 5-assist games in WNBA history. Her current streak started with the June 11 game against the Chicago Sky. This outing against the Mercury takes her tally to six.
Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas became the fastest player in WNBA history to record 500 assists with a franchise, surpassing none other than Caitlin Clark. And she has done so in four fewer games. She finished the night against the Fever with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and a staggering 9 assists. She also moved to 13th on the WNBA’s career steals list.
More fireworks can be expected as both teams meet once again as the Fever host the Mercury again on Wednesday.
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The post Kelsey Mitchell Sustains Facial Injury After Hard Contact With Kahleah Copper Amid Fever’s Chaotic Night vs Mercury appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
