The Fever defeated the Dallas Wings 110-109 on Sunday thanks to a career-high 35 points and eight assists from Caitlin Clark, 30 points from Kelsey Mitchell, and a combined 16 3-pointers made by ah,p,t eztpathe two players. Clark’s 329 assists this season set a record for the most assists in a single WNBA season, and she also broke Seimone Augustus’s record of 744 points set in 2006.
Indiana (20-19), which was coming off back-to-back losses to the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, clinched the No. 6 spot in the playoffs, which begin next Sunday. The Fever could play the third-seeded Connecticut Sun, who won three of the four regular-season matches between the teams, in the first round. The Minnesota Lynx might still fall to the Sun for the second seed.
With 6:35 remaining, Clark scored a driving layup, stole a pass from Temi Fagbenle, and then drove the court for another layup to put the Fever up 90-86. Teaira McCowan scored inside to cut the lead to two, but Clark responded with back-to-back threes and a free throw after a transition steal foul to make it 97-88 with four minutes remaining. Indiana tied its franchise record for single-game scoring as well as its season high for made 3-pointers.
Arike Ogunbowale made a contested runner in the lane and then a layup to spark an 8-0 spurt that pulled the Wings within a point with 2:27 remaining. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass from Clark and, after Satou Sabally scored in the paint, Damiris Dantas hit 3s 25 seconds apart to give Indiana a 106-98 lead with a minute to go. Ogunbowale fed Natasha Howard for a short pullup jumper, then converted a 3-point play to make it a one-possession game with 41 seconds left. Clark and Aliyah Boston each made 2 of 2 from the free-throw line to hold off the Wings, who grabbed 3-pointers from Ogunbowale and Sabally in the final 2.1 seconds.
Dallas (9-30) has dropped its last eight games. For the Wings, Ogunbowale and Sabally both scored 27 points, while Natasha Howard chipped in with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana was led by 15 points from Boston. The Fever and Dallas have split their first two encounters thus far this season. To win on their home court, each team needed to score at least 100 points.
