Kelsey Mitchell has become an ideal partner for Caitlin Clark in the backcourt, and together they have helped the Indiana Fever make a strong comeback since the Olympic break. This performance has put Indiana into the playoffs.
The Fever have won six out of their last seven games and are now above .500 for the first time since June 13, 2019. Their recent victory over Dallas brought their record to 17-16.
Before this, the Fever had set a WNBA record by going 189 games without a winning record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Indiana secured its first playoff spot since 2016 when Chicago and Atlanta both lost on Tuesday night. The Fever are currently sixth in the standings.
Mitchell, who has been with the Fever since 2018, is one of the few remaining players from the team’s tough years. She hadn’t won more than 13 games in any season until now.
“I know what the bottom feels like, and I don’t want to be there no more,” Mitchell said.
Since the break for the Paris Games, Mitchell has scored more than 20 points in all seven games and is averaging 28.3 points per game, which is the second highest in the league after A’ja Wilson.
Mitchell is having her best scoring season, averaging 19 points per game. She was the leading scorer for Indiana last season with an average of 18.2 points.
“I think Kelsey has been playing really good basketball. She only makes my life easier when you have that 1-2 combo in the backcourt,” Clark said. “It’s lot of fun for myself to play that way. I think we’re just playing up-tempo.”
Mitchell enjoys playing alongside Clark, who leads the league in assists with 8.4 per game.
“I think that me and Caitlin, as well as our group, I think we just found a way,” Mitchell said. “I think our pace is kind of setting us apart from a lot of different teams.
Because you like to get the ball up and down the court at such a high pace. And I think the way that we play, it just makes our games thrive even more.”
The Fever will play six consecutive home games starting Wednesday against the last-place Los Angeles Sparks, leading up to their regular-season finale at Washington.
