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PARK CITY, UT — The Indiana Fever secured their first win of the 2024 season versus an opponent with a .500 or better record Sunday evening, beating the Mercury 88-82.
Build Up Stemming From One Of The WNBA Greats
There was a lot of build up for this matchup between Cailtin Clark and one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, Diana Taurasi, not just because they are both crowd sellers, but because of some comments Taurasi made in April.
In an interview with SVP (Scott Van Pelt), she seemingly gave Clark some tough love and explained that there were seasoned vets in the league that she can’t just surpass once she enters the league.
“Look, SVP, reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing, and that’s just life. We all went through it,” said Taurasi.
“You see it on the NBA side and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18 year-olds, but you’re going to be playing against some grown woman that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”
A Game Of Runs
This was the first game of the season between the two and it did not disappoint.
The Mercury came out the gate swinging, jumping out to an early 14-2 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter, holding the Fever to just 12% from the field during the opening stretch of the game.
The Fever made a run of their own, cutting the lead down to single digits with three minutes left in the first half.
Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, and Taurasi came out in the third combating the Fever’s late push, extending the Mercury lead to as much as 15 in the period.
Then the tide changed.
A 27-2 run by the Fever, catalyzed by Cailtin Clark’s assists and Kelsey Mitchell’s shot making, propelled the squad, taking 10 point lead with 1:55 left in third period.
A contest that went back and forth saw the Mercury take the lead again in the fourth, leading by seven with three minutes to go.
Then the young and resilient Fever ended the game on a 19-6 run to close out the Mercury, highlighted by a Kelsey Mitchell mid-range jumper to take the lead with 35 seconds remaining.
The Fever went on to hold on 88-82 to improve their record to 8-12 on the year.
How Did Clark And Taurasi Perform?
During the entirety of the anticipated matchup, Taurasi and Clark didn’t guard each other, but both women made impacts on the game.
Taurasi finished with 19 points while Clark led the way for the Fever, filling up the stat sheet with 15 points, 12 assists, and one rebound shy of a triple double with nine.
It seemed that Clark brought her a-game, showing Tarsuai that she belongs in this league with the best of the best after Tarausi’s comments earlier this year.
Coming off a loss, the Mercury has a quick turnaround with a back-to-back tonight versus the Connecticut Sun, who have the second-best record in the WNBA.