INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever got back into the win column with a 99-82 win over Atlanta on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It was a needed rebound for the Fever, who suffered a two-game losing streak this week, including a 19-point loss to Golden State on Wednesday.
Indiana improves to 10-10 with the win and will play Dallas on Sunday to finish off the five-game homestand.
The Fever’s All-Stars stepped up with Kelsey Mitchell (25 points), Aliyah Boston (19 points, eight assists and six rebounds) and Caitlin Clark (12 points, 9 assists) leading the way. Sophie Cunningham provided a spark off the bench with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Clark’s shooting remains an issue, as the star point guard shot just 5-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-7 from behind the arc.
Here are three observations:
Indiana splits season series with Atlanta
The Fever and Dream played four times in the first 20 games of the season, making it the first completed series for Indiana in 2025. Indiana played Atlanta four times before it played Phoenix or Minnesota (officially in the regular season) once.
WNBA scheduling quirks aside, the Friday night win means Indiana split the season series with Atlanta, preserving a potential tiebreaker situation against its Eastern Conference foe. If it comes down to Indiana and Atlanta tied at the end of the regular season, the advantage will go to the team that has a better record against teams over .500 that season.
Fever make another lineup change, return to regular starting five
Indiana switched up its lineup for the second straight game, putting Lexie Hull back into the lineup at the 3.
The Fever took Hull out of the starting lineup on Wednesday, with coach Stephanie White opting to run a small-ball lineup with Aari McDonald starting at point guard, Kelsey Mitchell at shooting guard and Caitlin Clark at small forward.
That game plan was specific to Golden State, a physical team. White also hoped to give Clark some on-court breaks in her first game back from a two-week absence because of a groin injury — Clark was guarded full-court and double-teamed when she brought the ball up the court, so McDonald was in to take some of the pressure off.
Now that Golden State is in the rearview mirror, Hull returned to the starting lineup. Atlanta runs a bigger lineup, with Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones as double posts, so Hull’s size was needed.
Fever subdue Jordin Canada after career first half
Atlanta guard Jordin Canada had one of the best nights of her career condensed into the first half of Friday night’s game.
Canada seemed like she was unstoppable for 18 minutes in the first half, scoring a career-high 26 points. Thirteen of those points came in the final four minutes of the second quarter, where she contributed to all of the Dream’s 15 points (three 3-pointers, two jumpers, and one assist to a Brittney Griner jumper). She also went 6-of-9 from 3-point range, matching the number of 3-pointers she had all season coming into the game.
The Fever, obviously, weren’t expecting that kind of career performance from Canada, who came into the night shooting 20% from 3-point range.
And they adjusted in the second half.
Canada only had four points the entire second half, going scoreless in the third quarter. That allowed Indiana to build up a sizeable lead, getting on track and splitting the season series with Atlanta.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever vs Dream: Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston key win, Caitlin Clark still struggles with shot