The Indiana Fever seemed to be in serious trouble during their game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. Not only did they miss Caitlin Clark from the get-go, but also saw Sophie Cunningham leave the court with an injury. However, Kelsey Mitchell was just ready to put the team on her back.
The 29-year-old delivered a memorable performance to help the Fever pull off a hard-fought, comeback win in overtime by dropping 38 points. With this production, she became the Fever player with the most 30+ point games in franchise history with 11.
Before Sundayâs win against the Sun, Mitchell was tied with Tamika Catchings in first place with 10 games scoring 30+ points each in a Fever uniform. Now, Mitchell has extended her lead over Clark on this stat to six games.
Without Clark and Cunningham, Mitchell gets it done for the Fever
Mitchell stepped up when the Fever needed her the most. With Cunningham leaving the game with an apparent knee injury early in the first quarter, the outlook was far from encouraging for Stephanie Whiteâs team, which continues to miss its star player, Clark, due to a right groin injury.
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The Fever went to halftime trailing 48-29, and it was hard not to imagine a loss by then. However, thatâs when Mitchell turned up her game, with the Fever outscoring the Sun 23-15 in the third quarter before forcing overtime with a 32-21 difference in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Mitchell and the Fever sealed the deal with a 15-9 score, drawing praise from the injured Clark and Cunninghamâwith both players thrilled to see her teammates get the job done without them.
A historic night for Mitchell
âSpeechless, really⊠just put us on her back,â Fever coach Stephanie White said of Kelsey Mitchellâs performance, via Tony East. âShe didnât settle. Stayed aggressive. She willed us.â
Curiously, Mitchellâs first 38-point game had also come against the Sun. On this occasion, however, she had more assists (6 vs 2), less turnovers (3 vs 4), and less fouls (1 vs 5).
In addition, Across the Timeline notes that, with todayâs performance, Mitchell joined Diana Taurasi as the only players in WNBA history with multiple games of 35+ points, 6+ assists, and 5+ three-pointers.
