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INDIANAPOLIS – In his first game as interim head coach and in the arena where his retired No. 34 IUPUI jersey hangs from above, Carlos Knox earned the first win of his WNBA head coaching career in a 101-96 Indiana Fever win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Indiana snapped its five-game losing streak and improved to 3-7 this season. The Sparks fell to 1-6 in its last seven games and 3-6 overall.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell got off to a hot start in the first quarter, hitting three of her first five shots, and passed Briann January for third all-time in franchise history for most made field goals. Mitchell capped the night with 726 made field goals for her career, trailing only Tamika Catchings (2,385) and Katie Douglas (899) with the most ever made in a Fever jersey. Mitchell was one of five Fever players to end the night in double figures with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Friday was Mitchell’s 99th career game finishing in double figures and the 40th game of her career scoring at least 20 points.

Fever forward Emily Engstler was also clicking early on offense, scoring nine points on 4-of-4 shooting to help the Fever gain a 26-22 lead after the first quarter. Engstler led all reserves with a career-high 13 points to go along with nine rebounds and also tied a career-best with seven offensive rebounds. Rookie forward NaLyssa Smith, who missed the previous four games with an ankle injury, picked up where she left off with 17 points in 24 minutes for Indiana.

The Fever opened the second quarter on a 13-4 run to increase the lead to 13 at the 6:02 mark. Los Angeles would respond with an 11-5 run of its own and would head to the locker room trailing the Fever, 55-47. Indiana knocked down seven of the team’s 11 3-point field goals, which tied a season-high, and shot 63 percent from beyond the arc in the first half alone.

Fever guard Danielle Robinson also dished out six assists in the first half, finishing with 11 total and earning her first double-double of the season with 10 points.

The Fever continued the streaky trend right out of the half with a 15-5 run to open the third quarter, which included two more Kelsey Mitchell three-pointers to help push the Fever lead to 18 at the 6:07 mark — its largest lead of the night.

Los Angeles opened the fourth quarter on a 13-6 run to cut into an 88-84 Fever lead with 5:12 remaining. The Sparks then made four of its next five shots to cut the deficit to just two at the 2:41 mark. After getting fouled, Robinson hit two clutch free throws with one minute left to put the Fever up 97-93. Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike hit a three-pointer with 11.1 seconds to go, but a blocked shot on Sparks forward Katie Lou Samuelson from Fever forward Victoria Vivians sealed the game. Vivians would finish with 17 points, surpassing the 15-point threshold for the sixth time in her last seven games.

For the Sparks, Nneka Ogwumike led all scorers with a season-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and finished with 10 points for a double-double. Katie Lou Samuelson also pitched in a season-high with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Despite shooting 2-of-11 and not making her first field until the fourth quarter, Liz Cambage tallied 13 points and nine rebounds.

Indiana also outgained Los Angeles 19-3 on second chance points.

The two teams will meet for the final time during the regular season on July 19 in Los Angeles.

UP NEXT
The Fever return to Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the Washington Mystics.

Tuesday’s game will be streamed on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

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