Nineteen points in a quarter, then 39 in the next
The first quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night was close to unwatchable. Indiana went seven minutes without a field goal, from a Lexie Hull layup at the 7:54 mark to a Ty Harris three-pointer with 14 seconds left. They took 14 free throws in that stretch and made nine. Connecticut led 28-19.
Then the game flipped. Caitlin Clark opened the second quarter with a stepback three and a layup, five points on her own, and Indiana ripped off a 10-2 run that forced a Sun timeout inside seven minutes. Aliyah Boston tied it. Clark went on another personal 5-0 run. Kelsey Mitchell finished a 10-0 stretch with a layup and Indiana were suddenly up double figures.
The second quarter ended 39-15. The half ended on a 17-2 Fever run. Final score 111-91.
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Thirty-four each
Mitchell finished with 34 points and four assists, including a behind-the-back feed to Makayla Timpson. She has now scored at least 20 in 24 consecutive games. Clark matched her with 34 points and 12 assists, and the two of them closed the argument with an 11-0 run in the fourth that pushed the lead to 18.
Context matters here. Connecticut arrived as the second-worst team in the league, missing three starters to injury and overseas commitments, while Indiana had a full rotation available. Diamond Miller still went 4-of-7 from the floor with 12 first-quarter points and looked like the best player on the court for ten minutes.
The free-throw problem has not gone away either. Indiana have been shooting poorly from the line for three weeks, dating back to the Las Vegas game on August 6, and Friday brought more of the same even after the lead grew.
The seeding picture
Atlanta lost to Portland on the same night. That combination moves Indiana to 26-14 and back into fourth, which means a home game in the first round if it holds.
Four games remain on the schedule: Toronto, Washington and Minnesota twice. The Fever do not play again until September 18 because of the FIBA break, which gives a team that just found its rhythm three weeks to sit on it.
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