INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark started fast and finished with 29 points and 10 assists while Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points to help the Indiana Fever fend off a furious second-half rally from the Phoenix Mercury for a critical 98-89 victory on Friday night.
In the first game since the Olympic break, Mitchell made six 3-pointers and Clark had four as the Fever celebrated the restart of the WNBA season by adding another twist to the budding rivalry between Clark and three-time league champion Diana Taurasi.
Indiana swept the three-game season series with Phoenix as Clark tallied the 10th double-double of her rookie season.
Kahleah Copper, one of Phoenix’s three U.S. Olympic gold medalists, led the Mercury with 32 points and eight rebounds. The other two — Taurasi and Brittney Griner — finished with 16 points and 10 points, respectively, after scoring just 12 combined in the first half.
DREAM 83, STORM 81
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored a season-high 30 points, Allisha Gray added 19 and Tina Charles scored in the post with 1.1 seconds left to help Atlanta beat Seattle to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Charles finished with 16 points and Jordin Canada scored 10 points — all in the fourth quarter — to go with eight assists and three steals for Atlanta (8-17) in the first game back for both teams following a monthlong break due to the Paris Olympics.
Seattle entered the fourth quarter with a 60-55 lead, but Atlanta went on a 12-5 run to go ahead 67-65 with 5:37 to play. The Dream maintained a lead until Jewell Loyd hit a contested fall-away 3-pointer in front of the Seattle bench to make it 81-all with 4.6 seconds left. Loyd’s tying shot came after she chased down a miss from Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The Dream called timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt and Charles caught the inbounds pass on the left block, faced the basket and pulled up for a short jumper to give Atlanta the win.
SUN 109, WINGS 91
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — DeWanna Bonner scored a season-high 29 points, Marina Mabrey added 17 points in her debut for Connecticut and they beat Dallas Wings in the return to action for both teams after a monthlong break for the Paris Olympics.
Alyssa Thomas had 12 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for Connecticut (19-6) while Tyasha Harris scored 14 points, Brionna Jones had 12 and Olivia Nelson-Ododa contributed 10 off the bench.
After an 8-0 start by the Wings, Thomas scored Connecticut’s first six points to spark an 11-0 run that was capped by a Bonner 3-pointer. From there, the Sun never trailed again.
Satou Sabally finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in her season debut for Dallas (6-20). The 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player missed the first 25 games of the season due to a shoulder injury sustained while helping Germany qualify for the Olympics.
The Associated Press
