Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky
Sunday, July 2, 2023
Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 4 p.m. ET
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Broadcast Information
Fever Facebook/ESPN 3
Pat Boylan (play-by-play), Bria Goss (analyst)

The Indiana Fever return to Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon to take on the Chicago Sky after a four-game west-coast road trip.

The previous two matchups between the Fever and Sky this season were tightly contested matchups in Chicago. After the Sky took the first game of the series in an overtime affair, 108-103, on June 6, Indiana prevailed against the Sky on June 15, 92-90.

In the second matchup, WNBA All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell lifted Indiana to the win as her completed midrange jumper left 1.1 seconds on the clock, which proved to be too little time for the Sky to convert in their last possession. Mitchell scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and dished out a team-high five assists in the win. All-Star starter Aliyah Boston led the Fever in scoring in the win with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the court. NaLyssa Smith, who had 15 points on the night, matched Boston in rebounding as they both pulled down eight rebounds a piece. In the second matchup, the Mitchell-Smith-Boston combination shot a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line, which was only the fifth time in WNBA history and first time in franchise history that a trio of teammates have individually had at least 15 points and at least five made free throws on perfect shooting from the charity stripe.

Sunday’s matchup will be the first time Boston and Mitchell take the floor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse floor after being named WNBA All-Stars. Boston leads the league in field goal percentage shooting 62.6 percent from the floor on average. In addition, she has consistently led all 2023 rookies in scoring average (15.3 ppg), rebounds (8.5 rpg), blocks (1.5) and minutes played (29.5 ppg). In her sixth season with Indiana, Mitchell is leading the team in scoring averaging 17.0 points per contest and ranks near the top ten in the league in scoring average. She is third in the WNBA in most made 3-point field goals this season at 38.

Smith averages a double-double this season at 14.4 points per game and is tied for second in rebounding in the league at 10.1 rebounds per game. Erica Wheeler, Lexie Hull and Kristy Wallace have offered additional support to the offense as they are averaging 8.9, 4.9 and 8.1 points respectively. Wheeler has dished out 76 total assists so far this season and leads the team in assists averaging 5.1 per game.

For Chicago, Marina Mabrey’s career-high 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the court and 6-of-11 from behind the three-point arc was the most points scored by a Sky player against Indiana in a regular season game back on June 15. She was followed by Evans in the scoring column, who recorded 21 points off the bench, while Courtney Williams dished out a season-high 10 assists. Mabrey closely follows team leading scorer and WNBA All-Star Kahleah Copper, who averages 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season, in the scoring column averaging 15.9 points per contest.

Indiana enters the game Sunday after concluding their four-game road trip with an 85-63 loss to the Phoenix Mercury.

Indiana’s win in Chicago on June 15 took place in the middle of what became a six-game losing streak for the Sky, which ended June 28 against Los Angeles. Chicago enters the matchup following two wins over the Sparks in back-to-back games.

Sunday will be the first game for the Sky after GM/Head Coach James Wade was hired by the Toronto Raptors. Effective immediately, Emre Vatansever was named Interim General Manager and Head Coach, joined by current Assistant Coaches Ann Wauters and Tonya Edwards.

Probable Starters

Indiana Fever (5-10)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (17.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Guard – Erica Wheeler (8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.1 apg)
Guard – Lexie Hull (4.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.87 spg)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (14.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Center – Aliyah Boston (15.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg)

Chicago Sky (7-9)

Guard – Kahleah Copper (16.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Guard – Courtney Williams (8.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.9 apg)
Guard – Marina Mabrey (15.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.5 apg)
Forward – Alanna Smith (10.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
Center – Elizabeth Williams (8.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.50 bpg)

Game Status Report

Indiana: No injuries
Chicago: TBA