The Indiana Fever keep on cruising.
Indy claimed its third straight win on Wednesday, beating the Phoenix Mercury 107-101 despite yet again being without the injured Caitlin Clark.
Aari McDonald (27 points) and Aliyah Boston (22 points, 12 rebounds) were fantastic in the win, helping to make up for Clark’s absence and a tough shooting night from Kelsey Mitchell (3-of-10 from the field, eight points).
Alyssa Thomas was yet again spectacular, albeit in a losing effort, putting up 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Kahleah Copper added 22 points.
The Fever are now 15-12 on the season and winners of five of their last seven as they continue to move up in the win column, while the Mercury dropped to 16-10 on the year and remain third in the WNBA standings.
The Fever obviously want to get Clark back and healthy. She’s now missed five games in a row with a groin injury and 14 games overall after she also was sidelined earlier in the year with a series of leg issues.
It is a good sign, however, that the Fever have handled this latest absence well. Upon her return, don’t be surprised if her teammates protect her as much as possible—Sophie Cunningham, for one, has had enough of other teams physically targeting Clark.
“You have seen players in our league try and toughen up Caitlin,” she said on her Show Me Something podcast. “Even when I wasn’t on her team, I know the talks that Phoenix had in the locker room. ‘We’re going to show her what the W really is.’ … Every rookie coming into the league, that’s how you’re going to treat them. But there’s just more for her. It’s her second year. Now, being on her team and seeing it, what are people doing? It’s just too much.”
For now, however, the Fever are handling their business while Clark is sidelined.