Kelsey Mitchell has become the perfect backcourt running mate for Caitlin Clark, and the two guards have led the Indiana Fever’s resurgence since the Olympic break. Now, they have Indiana in the playoffs.

The team has won six of seven games and is above .500 for the first time since June 13, 2019. The feverwho improved by 17-16 on Sunday victory over Dallashad gone 189 straight games without a win, a WNBA record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Indiana earned its first playoff appearance since 2016 when Chicago and Atlanta both lost on Tuesday night. The Fever are sixth in the standings.

Mitchell is one of the few players still on the roster from the Fever’s lean years. She joined the team in 2018 and had never won more than 13 games in a season until this year.

“I know what it feels like to be at the bottom, and I don’t want to be there anymore,” Mitchell said,

Mitchell has scored 20+ points in all seven games since the almost month long break for the Paris Games. She is averaging 28.3 points over that span — second-best in the competition, behind A’ja Wilson. Overall, Mitchell is having her best season scoring, averaging 19 points. She was Indiana’s leading scorer last season, when she averaged 18.2 points per game.

“I think Kelsey plays really good basketball. She just makes my life easier when you have that 1-2 combo in the backcourt,” Clark said. “It’s really fun for me to play that way. I think we just play up-tempo.”

Mitchell agrees and is enjoying working with Clark, who leads the league with 8.4 assists per game.

“I think Caitlin and I, and our group, just found a way,” Mitchell said. “I think our pace sets us apart from a lot of other teams. Because you want to move the ball down the field at such a high pace. And I think the way we’re playing just makes our games better.”

The Fever will play six consecutive home games, beginning on Wednesday against the last-place Los Angeles Sparks, before playing their final regular-season game in Washington.

AP WNBA Poll

New York remains in first place in this week’s AP WNBA Power Poll as the top four teams remain unchanged. Minnesota, Connecticut and Las Vegas topped the poll. Indiana moved up to fifth with Seattle in sixth. Phoenix, Atlanta and Dallas were next. Chicago dropped to 10th with Washington and Los Angeles rounding out the poll.

Caitlin angle

Clark had another solid weekaveraging 26.3 points, 9.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds to help the Fever win all three of their games. She’s still losing the ball a little too much, averaging 5.7 in the three wins, but the ball has been in her hands a lot. Clark also hit 13 3-pointers in those games, surpassing Rhyne Howard’s rookie record of 85 set in 2022. Indiana’s young star now has 98 on the season.

Impact on beginners

Angel Reese became the WNBA’s single-season rebounds leader with eight games remaining. Chicago’s rookie finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds for her 24th double-double, a league record for a rookie. She has 418 rebounds for an average of 13.1 per game, surpassing Sylvia Fowles’ record of 404 set in 2018. The 6-foot-3 Reese also broke the record for offensive rebounds with 165, passing Yolanda Griffiths (162 in 2001).

Cloud hung

Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud will miss the team’s next game after picking up her seventh technical foul of the season in a loss to Las Vegas on Sunday. Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game after receiving a seventh technical foul during the regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that season, the player or coach is automatically suspended for an additional game.

Player of the week

Wilson had another impressive run of games to earn AP Player of the Week honors. The Aces star averaged 36.3 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to help Las Vegas win 2-1. Indiana’s Mitchell also received votes.

Game of the week

Las Vegas at New York, Sunday. The Aces have been playing better lately and were fourth in the standings when the week started. They have a big trip ahead of them with games in Connecticut and New York before closing out the trip with a pair of games in Indiana.

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AP sports reporter Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball