The Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever played an exciting back-and-forth game on Friday night, with the Fever winning 98-87.
The first half ended with Dallas on top 37-35. The main story was that Indiana guard Caitlin Clark left the game right before halftime with what looked like an ankle injury.
Despite that, Clark was ready to go for the start of the third quarter. If her ankle was hurting her, you couldn’t tell. The star guard scored 17 points in the quarter and finished with 29.
Clark finished 11 of 18 shooting and was 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. The guard hit 5 of her 6 free throws, had 3 rebounds, and added 10 assists to round out her double-double.
The Fever also got a boost from Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with 23 points on 9 of 21 shooting. Center Aliyah Boston had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
For every run that Indiana tried to go on, Dallas had an answer. Paige Bueckers led the Wings with 29 points and added 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Odyssey Sims and Arike Ogunbowale combined for 31 points.
The story of the game, apart from efficient second-half shooting from both teams, came down to the benches. Dallas’ bench combined for nine points, while Indiana’s had 18.
The Fever struggled shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 9 of 24 attempts (38%). Luckily for Indiana, Dallas was forced to take more deep shots down the stretch to stay in the game and finished 7 of 29 (24%).
The win moves Indiana to 22-12 on the season. Dallas’ loss drops them to 20-15. Both teams are currently in the playoff field, with the Fever holding the 4-seed and the Wings clinging to the 8-seed.
This was the second of three matchups between these teams this season. The last time they played was on May 9, the second day of the regular season. Dallas took that game 107-104.
The rubber match between the Wings and Fever will take place on August 20.