Indiana Fever beat Seattle Storm in WNBA action as Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell star, Caitlin Clark struggles

Indianapolis Star

7 hours ago

SEATTLE – Fever center Aliyah Boston scores a career-high 31 points as the Indiana Fever notched a victory over Seattle, 94-86, to cap their three-game Western trip.
The win puts Indiana back at .500 with a 7-7 record, and the Fever will head back home to Indianapolis to play the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night.
Here are three observations:
After loses to Las Vegas and Golden State, Indiana finally got a win on this trip. And it came against the best opponent, on paper, of the trip.
Seattle came into the game at 9-5 and on a three-game winning streak, including one over the reigning champion New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces — a team Indiana lost to just two days ago.
Indiana led for most of the game, despite an off-night from Caitlin Clark. The Fever had a six-point lead at halftime, a 16-point lead at the end of the third quarter, and weren't challenged in the fourth.
Boston, despite early foul trouble, set a career high. She had to sit for much of the first quarter because of two fouls, but she didn't pick up another foul the rest of the game.
She was the recipient of many Clark assists, grabbing the ball under the basket and shooting over perennial All-Star Nneka Ogwumike for easy layups. She made 9 of her first 10 from the field, and finished 13-of-18.
Kelsey Mitchell came in shooting about 28.6% from 3-point range on the season, an unusually low mark. But she found her shot.
She helped the Fever methodically build their lead, filling the Fever's gaps from 3-point range. She finished the game with a 5-of-7 mark from 3-point range, accounting for over half of Indiana's 3-pointers. Her 26 points were a season-high, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, 5-of-7 from deep.
This trip has not been kind to Caitlin Clark.
She struggled from the field in three straight games, most notably from 3-point range. She only scored 2 points in the first half and had just 6 total for the second-lowest scoring game of her career on Tuesday night, going 3-of-13 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point range.
She didn't make a 3-pointer for the second time in three games and the third time total this season. Before this season, Clark had only had one game without a 3-pointer in her five-plus years between college and professional basketball.
Stephanie White said following the Fever's loss to Las Vegas that she wasn't concerned about Clark's shot, and that the coaching staff needed to work to "get her better looks, higher quality looks." Clark called the slump "frustrating," but said she focuses on other aspects of the game when her shot isn't falling.
She focused on facilitating again on Tuesday night, notching five assists before halftime. She finished with nine assists.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at [e-mail] or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.