The Indiana Fever dropped their third straight game on Friday night, falling 85-83 to the Connecticut Sun in a tightly contested battle at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
With Caitlin Clark sidelined due to a left quadriceps injury, the team struggled to find rhythm and composure, despite a valiant late-game rally led by Aliyah Boston.
Boston was nearly unstoppable, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and adding eight assists. She made her first seven field goal attempts and was the anchor on both ends of the court.
However, foul trouble in the first half limited her availability and disrupted Indiana’s interior presence. Still, her performance wasn’t enough to compensate for the absence of Clark, who is expected to miss at least two weeks.
The Fever came into the season with high expectations after adding Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner to a core built around Clark and Boston.
But without their superstar guard, who led the WNBA in assists last season and has become a face of the league, the Fever‘s offensive identity has taken a hit.
Fever’s fourth-quarter push comes up short
The Sun, winless entering the contest, appeared poised to cruise to their first victory of the 2025 WNBA season.
Marina Mabrey erupted for 26 points, including 13 in the third quarter, helping Connecticut build a commanding 74-59 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the fourth.
Indiana responded with a furious 16-0 run that included three clutch three-pointers from Bonner. The crowd came alive, and the Fever seized momentum heading into the final minute.
With just seconds left on the clock and the Fever trailing by two, Kelsey Mitchell received the inbounds pass in the corner.
After a slight bobble, she managed to recover and attempt a contested, off-balance three-pointer, which ultimately fell short-an airball that sealed the Sun’s 85-83 win.
Fever head coach Stephanie White admitted the final play fell apart under pressure.
“As far as the last play, it wasn’t clean. We didn’t get it in cleanly,” White said. “The way it was developing, it looked like we were gonna have a good look. But it just wasn’t clean.”
She later clarified that a three-point shot wasn’t the first option: “No, no. We weren’t looking for a three necessarily, we were just looking to get a quick score. I think the 3 happened because [the inbound] didn’t come in cleanly, and there was a little fumble of the ball.”
To make matters worse, fill-in point guard Sydney Colson left the game in the first quarter with a left knee injury. Sophie Cunningham, who replaced her, also exited late in the fourth after a hard collision. Their statuses for upcoming games remain uncertain.
The Fever are now 2-4 and slipping in the standings. They’ll have a few days to regroup before hosting the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, June 3.
Clark is unlikely to return for that game, leaving Indiana in a precarious position as they try to stay afloat in a competitive Eastern Conference.
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