Match Preview: Fever Host Aces For Two Back-to-Back Matches Starting Wednesday

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

Likely 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)
Guard – Lexie Hull (5.6 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, 1.0 assists per game)
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 per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 5.3 assists per game)
Center – A’ja Wilson (27.3 points per game, 11.9 rebounds per game, 2.7 bpg)
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.

EXAMPLE OF THE GAME:

After closing the first three games of a six-game home series with a 2-1 record, the Indiana Fever return with back-to-back matchups against the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday and Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. If the Fever can pull out a win against the Aces this week, it would mark only the second time in franchise history that Indiana has won at least one game against all regular-season opponents since 2010.

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

Since the Olympic break, Hull has led the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage, averaging 69.7 percent (23-of-33) from 3-point range and making 6-of-7 shots in the last two games. In both matchups with Indiana, Aces center A’ja Wilson averaged at least 28 points and nine rebounds, but recently suffered an ankle injury during the Aces’ game at the Connecticut Sun on Friday. Since returning from the Olympic break, Wilson, Mitchell and Caitlin Clark are the top three in the WNBA in points per game, averaging at least 24.7 points per game.

In Indiana’s most recent two games, Boston, Clark and Mitchell all scored at least 20 points, becoming the third trio in WNBA history to score back-to-back 20-point games. The other two trios are on the visiting team’s bench in Wilson and Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray, and then Wilson, Plum and Aces guard Jackie Young.

Clark, who won the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the third straight week yesterday, continues to lead the league in assists, averaging 8.5 assists per game. She also ranks eighth in the league in assists. Clark enters Wednesday with 306 assists and is just 11 assists shy of breaking Alyssa Thomas’ single-season assist record of 316 in 2023.

On Sunday, the New York Liberty snapped the Aces’ four-game winning streak with a 75-71 decision. Wilson did not play, but Plum scored a game-high 25 points with six assists and three rebounds. Only two other Aces players scored in double figures, with guard Young and forward Alysha Clark each scoring 12 and 11 points. On August 30, the Aces secured a spot in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs with an 83-72 win over the Atlanta Dream.

Indiana and Las Vegas have both solidified their positions as two of the best offensive units in the WNBA. The Fever and Aces both rank in the top five among all teams in scoring, with the Aces averaging 86.4 points per game and the Fever averaging 84.7 points per game. The teams are tied for fourth in assists, both averaging 20.4 assists per game. Indiana is averaging 45.5 percent shooting from the field, while Las Vegas trails with 45.2 percent from the field. Indiana has the fourth-most 3-point field goals made on the season with 328, while Las Vegas trails with 323 made from beyond the arc.