Indiana Fever at Phoenix Mercury
Thursday, August 7
PHX Arena | 10:00 p.m. ET

TV: Amazon/WTHR/Fever Direct
Radio: 93.1 WIBC

Probable Starters

Indiana Fever (17-13)

Guard – Aari McDonald
Guard – Kelsey Mitchell
Forward – Sophie Cunningham
Forward – Natasha Howard
Center – Aliyah Boston

Phoenix Mercury (18-11)

Guard – Monique Akoa Makani
Guard – Kahleah Copper
Forward – Alyssa Thomas
Forward – Natasha Mack
Center – Satou Sabally

GAME PREVIEW:

After seeing their five-game win streak snapped on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the Fever will try to bounce back on Thursday night when they close our their four-game road trip in Phoenix against the Mercury.

The Fever beat the Mercury last week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the first meeting between the two teams this season in a 107-101 offensive shootout. Point guard Aari McDonald scored a career-high 27 points in the victory, while All-Star center Aliyah Boston scored 17 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter to power Indiana to a victory.

Indiana is coming off a 100-91 loss on Tuesday to the Sparks. The Fever trailed by 22 with 5:41 remaining before mounting a furious rally with an 18-2 run over the next 2:32 to get back within six before ultimately running out of gas. The Fever offense was excellent, tallying 23 assists to just four turnovers, but on the other end they allowed Los Angeles to shoot 56.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

The Mercury have won their last two contests and are currently in fourth place in the league standings, 1.5 games ahead of the Fever. Thursday’s game could have major ramifications on the playoff race, as Indiana can secure the head-to-head tiebreaker over Phoenix with a victory. If the Mercury win on Thursday, the tiebreaker will come down to which teams takes the third and final regular season meeting on Sept. 2 in Phoenix.

Center Satou Sabally (17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game) and guard Kahleah Copper (16.2 points per game, .455 3-point percentage) are the Mercury’s two leading scorers, but All-WNBA wing Alyssa Thomas is the driving engine behind Phoenix’s offense. Thomas ranks 15th in the league in scoring at 15.8 points per game, third in rebounding (8.6 per contest), and leads the league by a wide margin in assists (9.1 per game). Thomas had 32 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists last week against Indiana, but the Fever also were able to force her into a season-high eight turnovers.