The Indiana Fever had their five-game winning streak snapped in Dallas against the Wings.
The Fever got off to a solid start but things unraveled from there in what was a rare off-shooting night from Caitlin Clark. Clark scored just 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting. She did add 9 assists.
The same thing was true on the other end for Paige Bueckers, as the two star guards were unable to recreate their duel in the Fever’s win versus the Wings last Friday. Bueckers had 13 points on 5-of-16 from the floor.
Kelsey Mitchell was able to keep up her torrid scoring pace for Indiana, topping 20 points for the 21st straight game. That set a new WNBA record for consecutive games with 20 or more points. She finished with 37.
However, Dallas got some strong contributions from the rest of the lineup. Jessica Shepard registered a career-high 26 points as she carried the Wings offensively in the first half. Arike Ogunbowale took over in the second half, scoring 32 overall. Awak Kueir moved into the starting lineup in the absence of the injured Azzi Fudd as the Wings elected to go big to begin the contest. Kueir had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 7 blocks. She was a deterrent at the rim for Fever drives.
Rebounding was also an issue for Indiana. Dallas beat them on the boards 32 to 28.
The Fever were due for a bit of a stinker given the brutal schedule stretch they are in the midst of.
This was the third game for Indiana on the road in what is a five-game trip in only eight days. They last played in Atlanta and in Toronto, both wins. They now head to Brooklyn to face the New York Liberty on Saturday before completing the trip in Chicago against the Sky on Sunday.
While every win is important for the Fever when it comes to playoff positioning, as they are trying to keep their place in the standings and secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, getting through this trek around the country healthy is as important as the results themselves.
Following this stretch, the Fever have one more game at home against the Connecticut Sun on August 28 before they get a break for the FIBA World Cup. Clark and Aliyah Boston will represent Team USA in Berlin, but the time off should still serve as a bit of a breather since their workload will be lessened on the star-laden roster.
Indiana fell to 24-13 with the loss. They are tightly bunched with the Las Vegas Aces and the Dream in what will likely be a down-to-the-wire race to see which teams are seeded where from 3 to 5.
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