Fever hosts Aces for consecutive matches starting Wednesday

Match preview: Fever hosts Aces for two consecutive matches starting Wednesday

Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces
Wednesday, September 11
Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 7:00 p.m. ET
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Broadcast information
MeTV Indianapolis

Possible starters

Indiana Fever (19-17)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (19.1 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game)
Guard – Caitlin Clark (19.2 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, 8.5 assists per game)
Defender – Lexie Hull (5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.3 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (10.7 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game)

Las Vegas Aces (22-13)

Guard – Kelsey Plum (18.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game)
Guard – Chelsea Gray (7.8 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game)
Guard – Jackie Young (16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists)
Center – A’ja Wilson (27.3 points per game, 11.9 rebounds per game, 2.7 blocks per game)
Center – Megan Gustafson (3.2 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game, 0.3 steals per game)

Game status report

Indiana: No injuries.

Las Vegas: No injuries.

GAME PREVIEW:

After finishing the first three games of a six-game home series with a score of 2-1, the Indiana Fever return to action with back-to-back matchups against the Las Vegas Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday and Friday. If the Fever pick up a win against the Aces this week, it would be just the second time in franchise history that Indiana has won at least one game against all division opponents in a single season since 2010.

The two WNBA champions won the first two games of this season against the Fever, most recently on July 2 at T-Mobile Arena with an 88-69 victory. In the first meeting of the season on May 25, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell and Temi Fagbenle all scored double figures despite the 99-80 loss.

Since the Olympic break, Hull leads the WNBA in three-point shooting, averaging 69.7 percent (23 of 33) from three-point range, and has made 6 of 7 in the last two games. Aces center A’ja Wilson has had at least 28 points and nine rebounds in both meetings with Indiana, but recently suffered an ankle injury during the Aces’ game against the Connecticut Sun on Friday. Since returning from the Olympic break, Wilson, Mitchell and Caitlin Clark were the top three in the WNBA in points per game through Wednesday night, all averaging at least 24.7 points per game.

In Indiana’s last two games, Boston, Clark and Mitchell each scored at least 20 points, becoming only the third trio in WNBA history to record two consecutive 20-point games. The other two trios are on the visiting bench: Wilson with Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray, and Wilson, Plum and Aces guard Jackie Young.

Clark, who was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the third consecutive year yesterday, continues to lead the league in assists, averaging 8.5 assists per game. She also ranks eighth in the league overall. Clark enters Wednesday with 306 assists and is just 11 assists away from breaking Alyssa Thomas’ single-season assist record of 316 in 2023.

On Sunday, the New York Liberty ended the Aces’ four-game winning streak with a 75-71 victory. Wilson did not play, but Plum scored the game’s most points with 25 points, six assists and three rebounds. Only two other Aces players scored in double figures: guard Young and forward Alysha Clark scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. On August 30, the Aces secured a spot in the 2024 WNBA playoffs after their 83-72 win over the Atlanta Dream.

Indiana and Las Vegas have cemented their position as two of the WNBA’s best offensive teams. The Fever and Aces are both in the top five in scoring among all teams, with the Aces averaging 86.4 points per game and the Fever averaging 84.7 points per game. The teams rank fourth in assists, averaging 20.4 assists per game. Indiana is averaging 45.5 percent of its shots from the field, while Las Vegas is behind at 45.2 percent from the field. Indiana has made the fourth most 3-pointers overall this season, with 328, while Las Vegas is behind at 323.