Kelsey Mitchell has been the steady hand guiding the Indiana Fever through a brutal injury-riddled season. She has been stepping up big without their star guard, Caitlin Clark. But after dropping game-winning numbers to stun the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinal opener, Mitchell took a moment to shine the spotlight where it all started.
After Mitchell dropped heartfelt praise for Stephanie White, the Fever star recently gave Caitlin Clark her flowers for bringing glore to Indiana during their recent playoff surge.
Kelsey Mitchell Gives It To Caitlin Clark For Fever’s Run
If keeping the injury struggles aside, the rookie’s arrival flipped the script for a franchise long stuck in the doldrums. And Mitchell captured it with her heartfelt nod ahead of Game 2. Though she knows a thing or two about carrying a load, she didn’t hesitate to credit Caitlin Clark for putting the Indiana Fever back on the map.
Speaking ahead of Game 2 against the Aces, Mitchell got real about the rookie’s impact.
“As a friend and a player, you grow to appreciate her because certain doors have opened because she’s come to the Fever. You have to respect that and I love the teammate and person in her because she’s accepted it with so much grace and even welcomed us with open arms to make this thing happen,” Mitchell said.
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She was right, though. The Iowa alum’s 2024 rookie splash dragged the Fever to their first playoffs since 2016, and even sidelined by a July groin injury this year, her shadow looms large. The Fever went 24-20 without her for stretches, clinching the No. 6 seed and upsetting Atlanta 2-1 in the first round.
Kelsey Mitchell Led Fever’s Scoring In Semifinal Opener
While it was a kind gesture from the Indiana veteran, she didn’t just talk up Clark. Mitchell backed it with a playoff-career-high 34 points in the Fever’s 89-73 Game 1 rout of the Aces. Additionally, she also set a WNBA record for most points in a player’s first semifinal.
Shooting 12-of-23 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, she torched Vegas for 17 in the first half alone, her efficiency (52.2%) and poise flipping the script on the MVP-fresh Aces. It was her second-highest scoring game in franchise history, fifth in MVP voting (93 points), and third in regular-season scoring at 20.2 per game.
The Fever, shorthanded with Clark and five others out, closed the third on an 11-0 run after Vegas clawed back, stretching a slim lead to 14 and cruising to victory. Odyssey Sims added 17 points, and Natasha Howard notched a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Indiana shot 50% overall and owned the paint with 50 points.