GAME RECAP: INDIANA FEVER FALL TO LA SPARKS
INDIANAPOLIS (June 26, 2025) — The Indiana Fever (7-8) lost to the LA Sparks 85-75 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
While the Sparks jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, the Fever battled back and cut it to a one-point deficit at the end of the first quarter, thanks to six points from Natasha Howard. Indiana’s 11 first-half steals helped give the Fever a 34-30 lead heading into the halftime break.
Kelsey Mitchell’s 11 points in the third quarter, including three three-pointers, put Indiana in front 58-50. But, backed by a 35-point fourth quarter, the Sparks took their first lead since the first quarter with 4:13 remaining in the game, ultimately holding off the Fever.
Indiana Fever Notes:
- Aari McDonald, previously signed on an emergency hardship exception, made her return to play for the first time since re-signing with the team on June 25. McDonald finished the night with 14 points.
- Aliyah Boston recorded her 100th career steal early in the third quarter. Her 5 steals on the night marked a career high, surpassing her previous high of 4.
- Kelsey Mitchell finished the night with 20 points, extending her double-digit scoring streak to 15 games, posting 10+ points in every game so far this season.
- Aliyah Boston recorded her 31st career double-double and her seventh of the 2025 season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Up Next: The Indiana Fever turn around for the second leg of a back-to-back, facing the Dallas Wings at American Airlines Center on Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET, broadcast nationally on ION.
FEVER’S CAITLIN CLARK (GROIN) MIGHT MISS GAME VS. WINGS, PAIGE BUECKERS
The much-anticipated first professional meeting between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers might have to wait.
Clark’s Indiana Fever will visit Bueckers’ Dallas Wings on Friday night, but Clark might be unable to play because of a left groin injury that kept her out of her team’s 85-75 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday in Indianapolis.
Clark was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and Bueckers was the No. 1 overall selection this year.
The Fever (7-8) were doing just fine without Clark for three quarters against Los Angeles, but they got outscored 35-17 in the fourth to drop to 2-4 in games that Clark has missed. She was sidelined earlier by a quad injury.
“We haven’t shown a killer instinct yet,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “We have had a tendency to relax in those moments. We’ve had empty possessions where we’ve been too lax with the basketball and have either taken poor shots or not valued every opportunity we have.
“It’s just a moment of mental lapses or mental relaxation that you can’t have in this league.”
Bueckers leads the Wings in scoring (17.7 points per game), assists (5.8 per game) and steals (1.8 per game), but it was the arrival of another newcomer — Li Yueru — that provided a recent boost.
Dallas (4-12) started the season 1-11 but has won three of four games since acquiring Yueru in a trade with the Seattle Storm on June 14. She has averaged 7.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 23.5 minutes with her new team.
Yueru amassed 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds when she made her first start for the Wings in a 68-55 victory against the visiting Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.
“She’s just an amazing player,” the Wings’ second-leading leading scorer, Arike Ogunbowale, said of Yueru. “Obviously she hasn’t been with us for a long time, but she’s a really smart player and she’s picking it up. … She’s a really great player, and I’m glad she’s on our team.”
Yueru, who is 6-foot-7, has provided a lift to Dallas’ defense. She helped the Wings hold Atlanta’s Brittany Griner to two points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. The Dream had a season-low point total and shot just 23.4 percent from the floor and 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) on 3-point attempts. Dallas had a 44-37 edge in rebounds.
“She is incredibly smart and physical, just really good with her positioning,” Wings coach Chris Koclanes said of Yueru.
–Field Level Media
