INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter Friday night, and Aliyah Boston scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth to help the Indiana Fever get past the Dallas Wings 98-87 in a key game for playoff position.
Clark also had 10 assists while Boston had 12 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points, and Tyasha Harris — who hadn’t made a field goal in the previous six games — was 5-of-5 shooting, all 3-pointers, to finish with 15 points.
Clark had her 20th career game with at least 20 points and 10 assists, the most in league history.
Mitchell scored at least 20 points for the 18th consecutive game to extend her WNBA single-season record, the second-longest streak in WNBA history (A’ja Wilson, 20 games).
The Fever won for the eighth time in 10 games and now hold a half-game lead over the Atlanta Dream for the No. 4 spot in the eight-team postseason field.
Paige Bueckers had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Wings, who have lost seven of 10. Arike Ogunbowale added 20 points.
The Wings slipped into a tie for seventh with the Washington Mystics and will meet the Fever for the final time this season Thursday in Dallas.
FIRE 84, STORM 82
SEATTLE (AP) — Holly Winterburn scored 18 of her career-high 20 points in the first half, Bridget Carleton had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Portland beat Seattle to secure a four-game season sweep.
Winterburn, who went into the game with 49 career points in the WNBA, made 8 of 14 from the field and finished with
Karlie Samuelson made Portland’s 12th and final 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining for a 79-66 lead. But the Fire did not make another field goal until Emily Engstler’s driving layup with 2:07 left made it 82-75 and Carla Leite, an 89% free-throw shooter, went 2 of 4 at the stripe in the final 15 seconds.
Natisha Hiedeman sank a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left to cut the deficit to 83-82, but her 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit hard off the backboard.
Leite and Megan DiLeo each scored 14 points for Portland (14-20). Winterburn, who missed last season due to injury, made 8 of 14 from the field and finished with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in about 21 minutes off the bench. Winterburn went into the game with 49 career points in the WNBA.