Game Preview: Fever sets in for Dallas ahead of penultimate away game of regular season

Indiana Fever at Dallas Wings
Sunday September 1st
College Park Center | 4:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast information
Bally Sports Indiana

Likely starters

Indiana Fever (16-16)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (18.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game)
Guard – Caitlin Clark (18.4 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, 8.3 assists per game)
Guard – Lexie Hull (5.3 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game, 0.8 assists per game)
Center – Aliyah Boston (13.6 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (11.0 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game)

Dallas Wings (9-22)

Guard – Arike Ogunbowale (22.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game)
Guard – Jacy Sheldon (5.1 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game)
Center – Teaira McCowan (11.3 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game)
Forward – Satou Sabally (19.8 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game)
Forward – Natasha Howard (17.5 points per game, 7.1 points per game, 2.7 points per game)

Game Status Report

Indiana: None

Dallas: Stephanie Soares – LIKELY (left knee)

EXAMPLE OF THE GAME:

The Indiana Fever will finish their two-game road series at the Dallas Wings on Sunday at College Park Center before beginning a six-game home series on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Sunday’s game will be the second meeting between Indiana and Dallas this season. The teams first met on July 17 at College Park Center in a 101-93 Dallas victory before going into the Olympic break. Dallas and Indiana will meet for the final time on Sunday, Sept. 15 in Indianapolis. Indiana’s final regular-season road game is on Thursday, Sept. 19 in Washington.

Fever guard Caitlin Clark and center Aliyah Boston both had record-breaking nights in Indiana’s last meeting with Dallas earlier this year. Clark set the WNBA record for most assists in a single game with 19 and Boston had a career-high 28 points to go along with eight rebounds. Indiana outscored Dallas in paint points, 62-50, and outscored the Wings in rebounds, 35-29. On the Dallas side, 2024 WNBA All-Star MVP Arike Ogunbowale scored 24 points to secure the win in the first matchup.

Indiana is currently riding a three-game winning streak and has won five of six games since returning from the Olympic break. The Fever set a season-high in a 100-81 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday to extend their record to .500 or better in August or later for the first time since the 2016 season. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell scored 23 points — her sixth straight game scoring at least 20 points — and Clark had a career-high 31 points and 12 assists on Friday. Mitchell finished August as the league’s second-leading scorer, averaging 25.2 points per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Clark finished August just behind Mitchell as the league’s third-leading scorer, averaging 24.0 points per game, 8.5 assists per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Clark enters Sunday with six points to pass Tamika Catchings (594) for the most points scored by a Fever rookie in franchise history.

Before the break, the Dallas Wings were 6-19 and in last place in the league. Since returning, Dallas has won three of six games, including wins over the Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx, to climb to 10th place. The Wings most recently defeated the Lynx 94-76 on Friday to snap Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak. Ogunbowale had a game-high 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the win, while Wings forward Satou Sabally finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Dallas and Indiana rank fourth and fifth respectively in points per game among all teams in the WNBA, as Dallas averages 83.4 points per game and Indiana averages 83.3 points per game. Indiana also ranks third with 44.9 percent shooting as a team and Dallas ranks fourth with 44.8 percent shooting this season. Ogunbowale ranks second in scoring and first in steals among all players in the league, averaging 22.3 points per game and 2.4 steals per game. Clark continues to lead the league in assists, averaging 8.3 assists per game, with Ogunbowale tied for sixth with an average of 5.4 assists per game. Boston ranks seventh among all players in rebounds, averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, and Wings center Teaira McCowan ranks 11th with an average of 7.8 rebounds per game.