INDIANAPOLIS — Paige Bueckers scored 29 points, and the Dallas Wings carried a 66-63 lead into the fourth quarter Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Indiana Fever answered with 35 points over the final 10 minutes and pulled away for a 98-87 win.
Caitlin Clark finished with 29 points, 3 rebounds, and 10 assists for Indiana. Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points, and Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Boston scored 10 points in the fourth. Tyasha Harris gave the Fever another 15 points in 16 minutes off the bench, making all 5 of her attempts from 3-point range.
Dallas fell to 20-15, while Indiana improved to 22-12 and evened the season series at 1-1. The game featured 12 lead changes and 12 ties. Harris banked in a 3-pointer 15 seconds into the fourth to tie it at 66-66, and Indiana outscored Dallas 32-21 from there.
Bueckers shot 11-of-21 from the field, 2-of-6 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line in 36:33. She added 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Friday was her sixth game this season with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, second-most in the WNBA. Bueckers also has at least 2 steals in three straight games, matching the second-longest such streak of her career.
Arike Ogunbowale had 20 points and 6 rebounds, with 17 of those points coming after halftime. It was her 15th 20-point game of the season. Odyssey Sims scored 11 points, made a season-high 3 shots from 3-point range, and finished a team-best plus-9. Sims did not play in the fourth quarter.
Indiana Fever Turn Game In Fourth Quarter
Dallas and Indiana traded baskets throughout the third, with the Wings scoring 29 points and the Fever answering with 28. Harris erased Dallas’ 66-63 lead on Indiana’s first possession of the fourth, and the Fever soon had a 15-2 run. Clark’s 3-pointer with 6:19 remaining put Indiana ahead 78-68.
Ogunbowale converted an and-1 with 5:38 left to cut it to 78-73, but Makayla Timpson scored at the rim, and Boston followed with another layup. Indiana led 82-73 with 4:37 remaining, and Dallas never got closer than 7 again.
Indiana shot 13-of-20 in the fourth, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and made all 4 of its free throws. Dallas went 8-of-14 from the field but missed both of its 3-point attempts. The Wings also committed 5 of their 12 turnovers in the quarter, and Indiana scored 9 points off those mistakes.
Synergy Sports logged the Fever at 1.522 points per possession over 23 fourth-quarter play-type possessions, compared with Dallas at 1.000 on 21. In half-court offense, Indiana produced about 1.765 points per possession in the fourth, compared with about 0.945 for Dallas. For the full game, the Fever finished at 1.154 in the half-court, while the Wings were at 0.923.
Indiana produced 2.000 points per possession on 4 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions, including passes, 1.600 on 5 spot-up possessions, and 1.600 on 5 cuts in the fourth. The Fever also scored 2.000 points per possession on 3 offensive-rebound possessions. Dallas managed 0.500 points per possession on its 4 spot-up possessions.
Wings coach José Fernández said Dallas moved the ball, read the floor, and made extra passes for much of the first three quarters.
“Well, I thought holding them to 35 and they still ended up getting 98, that was inexcusable in the second half,” Fernández said. “But even though we gave up 28 in the third, the pace changed, right, because we’re answering baskets. It was 29-28.
“We talked about the backdoor cuts on some of the overplays,” Fernández continued. “But on some of those, you’ve got to have backside help, right, and anticipate some of those. Not only that, we’ve got to get better rim protection. We get thrown around too easy, and that’s got to improve.”
Ogunbowale said Dallas fought for the majority of the game.
“A lot of backdoor layups, and we weren’t helping each other,” Ogunbowale said. “We were hugged up on our man on the weak side. So when people are guarding Clark and guarding Kelsey, we have to help them. They’re two great players, and we kind of left them on the island by themselves. So the rest of the team, we’ve got to be better.”
Indiana Fever Limit Paige Bueckers’ Fourth-Quarter Half-Court Involvement
Bueckers had 25 points through three quarters and attempted at least 6 shots in each period. She took only 2 in the fourth, making 1, and did not attempt a 3-pointer.
Synergy credited Bueckers with 6 half-court clips in the first quarter, 5 in the second, 7 in the third, and only 1 in the fourth. The fourth-quarter half-court clip did not produce a point. She finished with 19 half-court clips at 1.000 points per possession.
The pick-and-roll usage followed the same pattern. Bueckers had 7 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions, including passes, through three quarters and produced 1.286 points per possession. On 6 possessions against single coverage, Bueckers produced 1.500 points per possession. Four of her pick-and-roll possessions came in the third, and Synergy did not log one for her in the fourth.
Dallas still logged 6 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions as a team during the fourth. On 4 that Synergy classified as the defense committing, the Wings produced 0.500 points per possession.
Fernández said Dallas ran two quick hitters out of timeouts and also used ghost-screen actions.
“Yeah, but you know what? We invited some of those, because now we’re going four-on-three,” Fernández explained. “We got the ball in the middle of the floor and we made extra passes, and you’re going to get an open shot.
“They did a good job getting it out of Paige’s hands, but then after that, we’ve got to finish on downhill drives or on reversals to that empty-side corner,” Fernández continued.
Bueckers finished with 25 offensive play clips at 1.120 points per possession. She also produced 1.500 points per possession on 6 transition opportunities.
Mitchell drew the primary assignment on Bueckers, while Indiana changed coverages around her. Clark stole a Bueckers pass with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter.
“Yeah, I mean, I think I was trying to just read in her eyes a little bit, and I almost kind of baited her into it, kind of act like I was a little bit behind the play, which maybe I was, but I kind of got my hand on it,” Clark said. “And there’s definitely moments where I go for those and I don’t get them. So coach would probably appreciate if I do get them.
“But was able to kind of jump start our defense a little bit, and I thought our defense in the fourth quarter was really good,” Clark continued. “I think we only held Paige to two field goal attempts. So just credit to our group. We kind of turned up the heat a little bit, threw some traps at them, were in rotation a little bit. So I think the more I can play passing lanes and kind of read people, obviously it can lead to some easy buckets for us.”
Caitlin Clark Returns From Locker Room, Scores 17 In Third Quarter
Clark left the floor late in the second quarter after landing on a Dallas player’s foot and went to the locker room before halftime. She returned to start the third quarter and scored 17 points in the period, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 at the line.
Synergy credited Clark with 10 offensive play-type clips in the third, her most in any quarter, with 5 coming in transition. For the full game, she produced 1.556 points per possession over 9 transition possessions, 1.500 on 4 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions, and 1.400 on 5 isolation possessions.
Clark played 34:05 and finished 11-of-18 from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 at the line. She said she had not seen a replay of the second-quarter play before speaking after the game.
“Yeah, I mean, I haven’t seen the video,” Clark explained. “I think I just landed on her foot. But I feel good, and obviously I was moving perfectly fine. So I’ll ice it and be good to go.”
Clark’s 29 points and 10 assists gave her a 20th career game with at least 20 points and 10 assists, the most in WNBA history, according to The Associated Press.
Indiana shot 14-of-36 in the first half before making 25 of 38 attempts after halftime. Fever coach Stephanie White liked the spacing Indiana found as the game progressed, including the ways Clark could get into the paint and find teammates.
“Yeah, I mean, we talked about, hey, look, we’re going to find our shot,” White said. “What we wanted was to get more ball reversals, to get more attacks in the paint. I thought we were taking early shots, long shots that we were settling for. And when we get the ball in a paint touch or a ball reversal, our shot quality goes up. So I felt like our shot quality wasn’t great in the first half.
“And I thought we did that,” White continued. “We got some paint touches. We got some attacks. We got some sprays. I thought CC, we were able to hit her on a couple of cuts, and then she kicked it out for three-point shots. I know one in particular, she found Sophie. She found Kelsey a little bit. So I thought our ability to spread the floor and get the ball moving was there.”
Tyasha Harris Delivers Against Former Dallas Wings Team
Harris had not made a field goal in her previous six games, according to The Associated Press. She made all 5 of her shots Friday, each from 3-point range, and played the entire fourth quarter. Harris went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in the final period for 12 of her 15 points.
Synergy credited Harris with 5 offensive play clips at 3.000 points per possession. Four came in the fourth quarter, also at 3.000 points per possession. Her possessions included work as a pick-and-roll ball handler, in isolation, and as a spot-up shooter.
Dallas drafted Harris seventh overall in 2020, and she played four seasons for the Wings across two stints before joining Indiana. Harris said she still catches herself watching Clark even now that they share the same team.
“I mean, I’m still in awe watching CC play,” Harris said. “Sometimes it’s like, it’s normal and it’s not. So it’s just great to be on her side officially this year.
“But, I mean, like you said, I’m a vet,” Harris continued. “You’ve got to stay ready whenever your number’s called. And my number was called today and I went perfect, so it felt great.”
Mitchell also remained in during a stretch when White would normally have given her a rest.
“I liked our ability to space the floor. Ty was shooting the ball really well, and there were moments where I thought about coming back with Sophie,” White explained. “I thought about getting Kelsey out because Kelsey hadn’t had a blow. It’s typically her time to get a blow. But I thought they were really playing well together.
“CC gives us a bigger guard to be able to guard a bigger wing,” White continued. “I liked that matchup. I thought Kelsey was doing a really good job on Paige, just making her uncomfortable. I mean, look, Paige is a hell of a player, so she still gets 29. But I thought in the fourth quarter in particular, Kelsey did a really good job of making it difficult. And it’s floor spacers, shot makers, and they were all doing that tonight.”
Arike Ogunbowale Says Dallas Wings Need 40 Minutes
Dallas trailed 17-15 after the first quarter before taking a 37-35 lead into halftime. The Wings then outscored Indiana 29-28 in the third. Ogunbowale had 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half before scoring 17 over the final two quarters.
Ogunbowale said Indiana got a lot of backdoor layups against a Dallas defense that stayed hugged up on the weak side.
“I mean, we fought. We had a good fight,” Ogunbowale explained. “We fought for the majority of the game.
“I think we talked about it, in the fourth quarter, they just laid it on us,” Ogunbowale continued. “They played more physical. They wanted it more, and that’s unacceptable as a team. We’ve got to string together 40 minutes. We don’t think being down people is an excuse. We have a really good team and really good players coming off the bench and a deep team, so we want to get these wins regardless.”
Awak Kuier Ties Dallas Wings Career Blocks Record
Awak Kuier recorded 3 blocks Friday, giving her 103 for her career and moving her into a tie with Teaira McCowan atop the Wings’ all-time blocks list, according to the team. All 3 came in the second quarter, tying Kuier’s career high for a single period and matching a Wings franchise record for blocks in a quarter.
Kuier finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in 27:55. Bueckers said Kuier’s instincts make her easy to play alongside.
“She makes the right read. She makes the right play,” Bueckers said. “She has really good instincts, and she’s easy to play off of. She can shoot the three. She has long arms, so she can get to the paint. She can create that way. She’s just a really good basketball player.”
Dallas blocked 6 shots as a team. Alanna Smith, Alysha Clark, and Maddy Siegrist had the other 3. Smith finished with 8 points, a team-high 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in 35:08.
Dallas Wings Play Without Azzi Fudd, Jessica Shepard, Aziaha James
Dallas used the same starting five for a second straight game with Sims, Bueckers, Ogunbowale, Kuier, and Smith. The Wings remained without Azzi Fudd, Jessica Shepard, and Aziaha James.
Fudd missed her fourth consecutive game with a right knee injury. Shepard was out for the second straight with a right ankle injury, and James did not travel with the team because of a left lower leg injury. Shepard entered Friday averaging 14.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over 33 starts. Fudd has averaged 13.1 points while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range in 30 games, and James is averaging 6.1 points.
Fernández said Dallas got the ball into the middle of the floor and made extra passes against Indiana’s coverages.
“We’re missing Azzi tonight, Aziaha, downhill driver, and Jess Shepard,” Fernández said. “So, I mean, we’re without three guys, I mean, two starters and someone that comes off the bench that can get downhill and get to the free-throw line against a team like this.
“So I was proud of our team’s effort for three quarters,” Fernández continued. “And I think we can go to Golden State looking at those 30 minutes and then looking at the entire 10 minutes on what we could have done differently on both ends of the floor, on the offensive and defensive end, in regards to defending backdoor cuts, rim protection, right? The arc, personnel, right? The three-point line.”
Indiana Fever Shoot 65.8% After Halftime
Indiana finished at 52.7% from the field after making 25 of 38 shots in the second half, a 65.8% rate. Dallas shot 43.1% overall. The Fever made 37.5% of their 3-point attempts compared with 24.1% for the Wings, while Dallas shot 90% at the free-throw line, and Indiana finished at 84.6%.
Indiana won the rebounding battle 34-31, outscored Dallas 50-36 in the paint, and held a 13-7 edge in fast-break points. Dallas led second-chance scoring 11-10.
Mitchell’s 23 points extended her streak of games with at least 20 points to 18, adding to her WNBA single-season record. That run sits 2 games behind the overall league record of 20 consecutive 20-point performances set by A’ja Wilson.
Attendance was announced at 17,274, a sellout at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Dallas is 20-15 after losing 7 of its last 10 games.
Dallas Wings Finish Road Trip at Golden State Valkyries
Dallas closes its two-game road trip Monday against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. CT, with the game streaming nationally on Peacock and airing locally on KFAA.
The Wings then return home for their third and final regular-season meeting with Indiana on Thursday at American Airlines Center. That game tips off at 7 p.m. CT and streams nationally on Prime, with WFAA carrying the local broadcast.
Dallas won the first meeting 107-104 in Indianapolis on May 9.
