Boston Wills Fever wins against Dream in Career Night

By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com

The Indiana Fever are in top form following the WNBA’s Olympic break, winning eight of their last 10 games. However, they slipped first on Friday when they lost to Minnesota and again when they faced Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. After a first half against the Dream that looked like a nightmare, the Fever went to the locker room trailing by four points and with 13 turnovers to Atlanta’s one. They erased a 16-point deficit midway through the third quarter and eventually won 104-100 in overtime.

With specialists around them, the Fever star trio can shine. How brightly they do that depends on themselves.

In the last two games, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell have each surpassed the 20-point mark. In both games, Clark and Boston each recorded a double-double. Clark did so in points and assists, Boston in points and rebounds.

But Sunday was Boston’s night: She set a new career high with 30 points, scratching and clawing her way to that score from under the basket and grabbing 13 rebounds in the process.

“Right now we’re in a situation where we just have to keep our foot on the gas,” Boston said. “I think we know we’re capable of beating any single team just because of the way we play, the pace we play and the weapons we have all over the court… And that’s why I think we’re in a good position. We just have to continue to know that even if we’re behind, no matter what time the game is, we’re capable of coming back.”

Boston’s fighting spirit led Indiana to a spirited victory, but not without the contribution of the Fever’s supporting cast.

Lexie Hull, the newest addition to Indiana’s starting lineup who has started each of the last four games, is having a career year. She set a new career high with 22 points in the Fever’s win over Seattle on Aug. 18 and is averaging 9.8 points, 1.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Hull’s rise has been rapid and paralleled the Fever’s post-Olympic streak. Now she has a real chance to challenge other sharpshooters for the league’s 3-point percentage crown and is a mainstay in Indiana’s rotation. After sinking just 21.7 percent of her two 3-point attempts per game last season, Hull is sinking 46.7 percent of those attempts from long range with the 2024 Fever – a 25 percent increase in efficiency without any drop in attempts.

She made four of her five three-point attempts in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Dream, but her best performances came from what Mitchell likes to call “the trenches,” so when the chips were down in a Sunday afternoon game, Hull was crucial in making the difference.

“I think she does a lot of things for us that don’t show up on the scoresheet,” Clark said of Hull. “She’s all over the field. I mean, she’s guarding her best player all night long. So I’m really proud of her. She’s our X-factor.”

In the final moments of regulation, Hull hit a well-timed three-pointer that brought the Fever within four points, and immediately after that game-winning shot, she grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end. Moments later, she deflected the ball, disrupting an Atlanta throw-in with less than a minute left in the game.

Hull finished the game with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting, four rebounds and two assists.

“We’re not satisfied,” coach Christie Sides said. “We haven’t accomplished anything yet… Our goal was to make the playoffs. But now that they’ve shown they can do it, we’re not ready to just give it up… We’re going to play one of the top teams in the league again, and they have the experience. Now we have to build on that.”

Indiana will continue its winning streak on Wednesday when it welcomes the Las Vegas Aces to Indianapolis for the second half of its season-ending six-game home series.