INDIANAPOLIS —The Indiana Fever earned their sixth road win of the season Sunday night, taking down Phoenix, 83-73, at Footprint Center. With the win, the Fever split the four-game season series with Phoenix — a feat Indiana hasn’t achieved since 2016.
“This was huge,” coach Christie Sides said. “We haven’t won here since 2017, so that’s just huge for our players and just the way the locker room feels after a win, these guys deserve it.”
Indiana is now 9-24 on the season with seven games left — five of which are at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Here are three observations from the Fever’s victory:
Early, late runs propel Fever over Mercury
The Fever’s matchup against the Mercury was a game of runs, and Indiana made sure to come out on the winning side of it. After going down 6-0 in the first quarter, Indiana exploded for a 12-0 run to take the lead. While Phoenix got close — within one or two points in multiple instances during the game — Indiana never gave up the lead after that.
“It was all about just keeping our foot down, on the gas, whatever we had to do,” Sides said.
Phoenix got close for one final time at the 3-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell took it upon herself to extend Indiana’s lead to a point Phoenix couldn’t reach.
With three 3-pointers and a fadeaway jump shot, Mitchell personally went on an 11-2 run over the Mercury in a two-minute stretch, finishing the game with a season-high 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting. In the process, the sixth-year guard eclipsed 3,000 career points, which have all been in a Fever uniform.
“It never really dawned on me that that could happen today,” Mitchell said postgame. “I was happy that we got a chance at the lead over Phoenix and got the W, they’re a fantastic team.”
Fever contain Mercury legend Diana Taurasi
With Phoenix center Brittney Griner out Sunday because of health and safety protocols, Sides’ game plan was simple: contain Diana Taurasi. Sides said pregame especially with Griner out, keeping the Mercury legend at bay was key to a Fever victory.
And that’s what the Fever did.
Taurasi only played the first half of the game, and she was declared out at halftime with a left toe injury. But Indiana made sure she, along with the rest of Phoenix’s 3-point shooters, wasn’t effective in the first half. Phoenix went 0-for-10 from the 3-point line in the first half, and Taurasi went 1-for-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc for just six points in 16 minutes.
“It makes you nervous when you come out for half and see Diana Taurasi had just five attempts,” Sides said. “You know she’s going to come out and get something started, so we talked about that at half to make sure she didn’t come out and start something else. But I hope she’s well.”
NaLyssa Smith bounces back
After missing nine games because of a foot injury and coming off the bench for four, NaLyssa Smith struggled in her return to the starting lineup on Friday against the Mystics — she ended the game with five fouls, including three in a two-minute stretch, and four points, her lowest mark of the season.
On Sunday, Smith scored seven of Indiana’s first 12 points against Phoenix, propelling the Fever to a 12-0 run in the first quarter.
“I think a lot of games, I just settle. Settle for jump shots, settle for 3s, but just talking to my family, talking to my coaches, I just realized how powerful I could be inside,” Smith said. “Sticking to that, I’m a lot more efficient, so it was a good night.”
Smith played 32 minutes against Phoenix with 25 points and 11 rebounds, including a game-high +/- of 16.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star