2024-08-19 14:25:02
Game Preview: Fever Host Storm on Sunday Afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Sun, Aug 18, 2024, 2:14 PM
Indiana Fever vs. Seattle Storm
Sunday, August 18
Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 3:30 p.m. ET
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Broadcast Information
ABC
Probable Starters
Indiana Fever (12-15)
Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (17.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Guard – Caitlin Clark (17.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 8.3 apg)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Forward – Katie Lou Samuelson (5.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (11.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Seattle Storm (17-9)
Guard – Jewell Loyd (20.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.0 apg)
Guard – Skylar Diggins-Smith (13.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 6.4 apg)
Forward – Nneka Ogwumike (17.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Forward – Jordan Horston (7.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Center – Ezi Magbegor (12.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.3 spg)
Game Status Report
Indiana: Temi Fagbenle – OUT (Right Thumb)
Seattle: None
GAME PREVIEW:
In the final of four matchups this regular season, the Indiana Fever (12-15) host the Seattle Storm on Sunday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Following the fourth meeting this season between the Fever and Storm on Sunday, Indiana will not play again until Saturday at the Minnesota Lynx.
Indiana enters Sunday afternoon after a 98-89 home win against the Phoenix Mercury, sweeping its regular season series against Phoenix for the first time since 2015. In the win, Boston, Clark, Mitchel and Smith all scored in double figures. Clark scored a team-high 29 points and Mitchell followed with tying a season-best 28 points, and the two guards combined for 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Indiana outrebounded Phoenix, 39-31, and tallied 34 paint points compared to Phoenix’s 10.
Clark could potentially add two more records to her rookie season on Sunday afternoon. Entering Sunday, Clark’s 75 made 3-point field goals trails only Tamika Catchings with 76 for the most made 3-point field goals by a rookie in franchise history. Rhyne Howard’s 85 made 3-point field goals still sits as the WNBA record for most made from beyond the arc in a rookie season. Clark’s 223 assists this season also trails only Ticha Penicheiro with 224 assists for the WNBA rookie record.
The Storm (17-9) also played on Friday but fell, 83-81, at the Atlanta Dream to snap its three-game winning streak. Only three Storm players scored in double figures, led by guard Skylar Diggins-Smith’s 29 point performance. Jewell Loyd followed with 21 points and Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike added 16. Diggins-Smith, Loyd and Ogwumike combined for 12 rebounds and six steals, too. Despite the loss, Seattle outscored Atlanta in paint points, 44-40, fast break points, 10-7, and led by as much as 14 in the beginning of the third quarter.
The Fever and Storm last met on June 27 at Climate Pledge Arena in a Seattle victory, 89-77, against Indiana. Clark and Erica Wheeler led Indiana in scoring with 15 points each, while Mitchell, Smith and Boston combined for 37 points last time out against Seattle. Loyd, who most recently helped the USA Women’s National Team win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, scored a team-high 34 points in the win.
Loyd sits toward the top of league scoring standings in fourth place, averaging 20.2 points per game, while Clark and Ogwumike rank 11th and 12th averaging 17.6 and 17.3 points per game each. Regarding rebounds, Boston is ranked seventh among all players in the league, averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, followed by Magbegor in eighth place, averaging 8.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, Smith and Ogwumike are ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, averaging 7.8 and 7.7 rebounds per game each. Clark is still the league’s leader in assists following the Olympic break, now averaging 8.3 assists per game. Diggins-Smith trails in fourth place, averaging 6.4 assists per game.
