Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell detail Indiana Fever defensive struggles vs Sparks
The Indiana Fever allowed 106 points on Wednesday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Players explain why they were disconnected.
- The Sparks take over late in the second quarter and run away from the Fever in the second half.
- Kelsey Mitchell has 29 points for the Fever, Lexie Hull 14 and Caitlin Clark 9.
The Indiana Fever have injury concerns and ballhandling issues in a 106-92 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Kelsey Mitchell scores 29 points, Lexie Hull 14 and Caitlin Clark struggles while dealing with a balky back (9 points). Aliyah Boston (lower leg) is out and Sophie Cunningham looks tentative after suffering pregame back spasms.
Indiana commits 17 turnovers, 12 of them Los Angeles steals that lead to 22 points.
Nneka Ogwumike (24 points), Rae Burrell (22), and Dearica Hamby (21) power Los Angeles, which takes over late in the second quarter and snaps a 3-game losing skid.
There’s no time to pout as the Fever (12-9) visit the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night, July 9.
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Sparks 91, Fever 77, 5:40 left 4Q: Caitlin Clark connects on a 3-pointer for the first time tonight. The Sparks are 50% from the field, the Fever 39%.
Sparks 82, Fever 71, end 3Q: Kelsey Mitchell has 4 3-pointers in the quarter and is up to 25. L.A. has a real Big 3 going tonight: Rae Burrell has 20 points, Nneka Ogwumike 18, and Dearica Hamby 17.
Sparks 66, Fever 53, 5:01 left 3Q: The Fever are defenseless in the quarter as the Sparks are up to 47% shooting for the game. Lexie Hull is up to 12 points.
Sparks 48, Fever 41, halftime: The Sparks are taking advantage of Aliyah Boston‘s absence and 3 fouls each on Monique Billings and Myisha Hines-Allen, going inside to score. Dearica Hamby, Nneka Ogwumike and Rae Burrell have combined for 33 points.
Kelsey Mitchell leads Indiana with 13 points. The Fever are 36% from the field, 24% on 3-pointers, and have 11 turnovers.
Sparks 38, Fever 34, 3:22 left 2Q: L.A. surges with a 10-0 run. Dearica Hamby has 11 points and Nneka Ogwumike 10.
Fever 34, Sparks 28, 5:41 left 2Q: Kelsey Mitchell is up to 11 points. The Fever have 8 turnovers, but they also have 5 steals and are +4 rebounding.
Fever 25, Sparks 21 end 1Q: Indiana’s lead reaches 10 points on a Caitlin Clark layup, but the Sparks score 6 straight to end the quarter. Ty Harris adds 7 quick points. Sophie Cunningham enters the game at 3:09 mark. Dearica Hamby has 7 points for L.A.
Fever 13, Sparks 11, 4:58 left 1Q: Kelsey Mitchell has 7 points. Caitlin Clark has 2 points and 2 assists. Sophie Cunningham suffered back spasms in warm-ups, and her status is unclear.
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- Caitlin Clark averages 21.2 points, 8.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, making 43.0% of her field goals, 34.4% of her 3-pointers and 85.4% of her free throws.
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- 0, Kelsey Mitchell
- 2, Myisha Hines-Allen
- 3, Raven Johnson
- 8, Sophie Cunningham
- 7, Aliyah Boston
- 10, Lexie Hull
- 12, Damiris Dantas
- 14, Grace VanSlooten
- 21, Makayla Timpson
- 22, Caitlin Clark
- 23, Bree Hall
- 25, Monique Billings
- 52, Ty Harris
- May, June results are below
- July 5: Fever 84, Las Vegas Aces 68 (Recap)
- July 8: at Los Angeles Sparks, 10 p.m., USA Network
- July 9: at Phoenix Mercury, 10 p.m., Prime Video
- July 12: at Las Vegas Aces, 9 p.m., NBC
- July 15: vs Golden State Valkyries, 8 p.m., USA Network
- July 17: vs Seattle Storm, 7:30 p.m., Ion
- July 18: vs New York Liberty, 8 p.m., CBS
- July 22: vs Connecticut Sun, 8 p.m., USA Network
- July 28: at Seattle Storm, 9:30 p.m., ESPN
- July 31: at Portland Fire, 10 p.m., Ion
- Aug. 2: at Minnesota Lynx, 1 p.m., ABC
- Aug. 6: vs Las Vegas Aces, 7 p.m., Prime Video
- Aug. 8: at Chicago Sky (United Center), 3 p.m., ABC
- Aug. 11: vs New York Liberty, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Aug. 14: vs Dallas Wings, 7:30 p.m., Ion
- Aug. 16: at Atlanta Dream, 7 p.m., ESPN
- Aug. 18: at Toronto Tempo (Scotiabank Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
- Aug. 20: at Dallas Wings (American Airlines Center), 8 p.m., Prime Video
- Aug. 22: at New York Liberty, 7 p.m., Prime Video
- Aug. 23: at Chicago Sky, 7 p.m., NBC
- Aug. 28: vs Connecticut Sun, 7:30 p.m., Ion
- Sept. 18: at Toronto Tempo, 7:30 p.m., Ion
- Sept. 20: vs Washington Mystics, 4 p.m., NBA TV
- Sept. 22: vs Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m., ESPN
- Sept. 24: at Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m., USA Network
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- May 9: Dallas Wings 107, Fever 104 (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 13: Fever 87, Los Angeles Sparks 78 (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 15: Washington Mystics 104, Fever 102, OT (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 17: Fever 89, Seattle Storm 78, (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 20: Fever 90, Portland Fire 73 (Recap, Clark injury)
- May 22: Fever 90, Golden State Valkyries 82 (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 28: Golden State Valkyries 90, Fever 88 (Recap, Clark stats)
- May 30: Portland Fire 100, Fever 84 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 4: Fever 83, Atlanta Dream* 71 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 6: New York Liberty 83, Fever 75* (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 8: Fever 78, Washington Mystics 76* (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 11: Fever 114, Chicago Sky* 106, OT (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 13: Fever 85, Connecticut Sun* 75 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 16: Fever 113, Toronto Tempo* 91 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 18: Atlanta Dream 108, Fever 101 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 20: Atlanta Dream 113, Fever 96 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 22: Fever 86, Phoenix Mercury 77 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 24: Phoenix Mercury 111, Fever 109 (Recap, Clark stats)
- June 27: Fever 111, Los Angeles Sparks 87 (Recap)
*-Commissioner’s Cup game
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