The Indiana Fever ended their three-game losing streak with an 85-76 win over the Washington Mystics, as the newly signed guard Aari McDonald played a decisive role in the victory and broke into the Top 10 of an eye-catching WNBA stat.
Signed under the emergency hardship exception just days earlier, McDonald made her presence felt immediately in her first appearance with the team on Tuesday, June 1 by leading them to victory.
The former No. 3 overall draft pick, joined the Fever following injuries to Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson and produced a well-rounded performance in her debut, with seven points, a team-high five assists, three steals, and one rebound in 27 minutes.
Her all-around performance stood out, but what truly grabbed attention was her remarkable ability to draw offensive fouls as she baited the Mystics into five fouls, as per FeverStats on X.com, formerly Twitter.
She managed to draw three offensive fouls in her first eight minutes alone against Washington, instantly catapulting her into the Top 10 across the entire WNBa for the stat, despite limited time to integrate into head coach Stephanie White‘s system.
“It made me anxious, you know, just coming in and not knowing the system, not really playing with the players,” McDonald admitted. “But it was a lot of film.
“A lot of film sessions by myself, just rewatching stuff, a lot of film with [development coach Keith Porter], and just asking questions.”
The Fever looked more organized than in their previous games without Clark, but her performance not only brought composure but also elevated the team’s on-court energy.
Teammate Lexie Hull also had a strong showing, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out four assists. Hull currently leads the WNBA in offensive fouls drawn with 12. That ability could be key to the Fever winning games through free-throw accumulation.
Who do the Indiana Fever play next?
The Indiana Fever are now .429 for the season (3-4) with that victory over the Mystics and have moved up into third place in the Eastern Conference, and seventh in the WNBA overall.
They’ll look to keep their momentum rolling with a win over Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky, whom they face on Saturday, June 7 at the United Center – home of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.
Tip-off is at 15:30 ET/12:30 PT live on the CBS network, and sees a rematch of May 17’s clash, which the Fever won 93-58 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark could potentially be back for that game from her quadriceps injury against the New York Liberty. She was predicted for a June 9 return, but it’s unclear if the Fever will feel an urge to rush her back.
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