The Indiana Fever defeated the Toronto Tempo 101-95 on Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to five games. Kelsey Mitchell tied a WNBA record with 29 points, while Caitlin Clark added 24 points in the victory.
Clark and Mitchell have each scored 20 or more points in the same game 16 times this season, setting a new WNBA mark. The previous record was held by Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter of Phoenix in 2008, who accomplished the feat 15 times.
Mitchell also scored 20 or more points for the 20th consecutive game, matching Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson for the longest such streak in WNBA history. However, after scoring eight points in less than a minute late in the third quarter, Mitchell went to the locker room and did not return.
Fever coach Stephanie White said after the game that Mitchell appeared to get "overheated" while playing in a hot environment rather than suffering a serious injury. Clark added seven assists for the Fever (24-12), and Aliyah Boston chipped in with 16 points. Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points off the bench.
The Tempo (10-24) were outshot 52.9% to 39.1% as they lost their 11th game in a row. Marina Mabrey led the Tempo with 22 points. Brittney Sykes returned from a foot injury to score 15 points.
Toronto reserve Aneesah Morrow had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Temi Fagbenle added 13 points off the bench, and Kiki Rice scored 10.
The Fever opened the fourth quarter with a 12-point lead that increased to 14 when Cunningham made three free throws with 6:45 to play. But Indiana struggled shooting from the field, allowing the Tempo to climb back within seven points with 2:55 to play. Makayla Timpson's steal set up Cunningham for a 3-pointer that gave the Fever a 10-point lead with 1:25 to play.
Mabrey nailed two consecutive 3-pointers to trim the lead to 97-93 with 59 seconds left. After a Fever miss, the Tempo had possession with 21 seconds to play, but Mabrey was called for a palming infraction and Rice was whistled for a foul.
The Fever led 33-23 on 61.9% (13-for-21) shooting after one quarter. The energized Tempo cut the lead to six with 7:10 to play in the second quarter before the Fever surged to score the next 11 points. The Tempo battled back, and Morrow's 3-pointer completed the first-half scoring and cut the halftime margin to 57-49.
Indiana shot 59% in the first half while Toronto made 42.2%. Mabrey hit two 2-pointers in the first minute of the third quarter to trim the margin to four. Mitchell reached 20 points on a driving layup with 6:03 remaining to give Indiana a 10-point lead. Fagbenle's 3-pointer reduced the lead to five with 2:03 to play, but Indiana finished the third quarter on a 9-2 surge to lead 81-69.
Source: www.aljazeera.com