The ladies are not done yet.
The Indiana Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream 77-60 on Sept. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, evening their postseason series at 1-1 and forcing a decisive Game 3. Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 19 points and added four assists to propel the Fever to their first postseason win since 2015.
Indiana’s victory was commanding. It was tied for the fourth-largest margin of victory in franchise playoff history and the largest margin of victory since a 22-point win over the Connecticut Sun in 2013.
“Our aggressiveness, attention to detail, our ability to contest without fouling, to be disciplined, I thought was huge,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “We played good enough defense and were able to get it going on both sides tonight.”
The Fever’s offense was efficient, shooting 42.9% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc. A key factor in the victory was their perfect performance from the free-throw line, where they made all 15 of their attempts. This was only the fourth time in Fever playoff history that the team has been perfect from the free-throw line.
“It takes a village,” Mitchell said. “It took a collective effort to get here. Our first (playoff) win here was really big for us. It felt good for us to come out on top tonight.”
Mitchell was not the only standout for the Fever. Aliyah Boston contributed 15 points and five rebounds. Natasha Howard added 12 points and five rebounds. At the same time, Makayla Timpson had an impressive outing off the bench, scoring nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting performance from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Timpson, securing her first-ever playoff win, said the Fever can “do anything they want to do” with a high-energy crowd like the one at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Fever’s defense was just as effective as their offense. They held the Dream to 15 or fewer points in three quarters, with Atlanta’s highest-scoring quarter being 16 points in the final frame. Atlanta finished the game shooting 37.9% from the field and 26.3% from 3-point range.
“I give Indiana a lot of credit,” Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. “They were very good today and made us pay for our mistakes.”
The Fever also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Dream 37-27. Aerial Powers and Aliyah Boston each led the team with seven and five rebounds, respectively.
For the Dream, Te-Hina Paopao was the leading scorer with 11 points. Rhyne Howard contributed 10 points and Naz Hillmon grabbed seven rebounds. Allisha Gray also had seven rebounds for Atlanta. Jordin Canada led the Dream with six assists.
The Fever, who now have a 1-1 postseason record, face the Dream in the series’ final game on Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta. The winner of Game 3 will advance to the WNBA Semifinals, taking on either the Las Vegas Aces or Seattle Storm.
Visit feverbasketball.com/playoffs for additional information.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on Facebook and TikTok @HorsemenSportsMedia. FOr more WNBA news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
