Indiana Fever at Los Angeles Sparks
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Crypto.com Arena | 10:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast Information
Fever Facebook / NBA TV
Pat Boylan (play-by-play), Bria Goss (analyst)

The Indiana Fever (6-16) will venture west to take on the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night for the first of two back-to-back matchups between the teams this week. The Fever will look to snap a five-game drought at Los Angeles dating back to the 2018 season.

After ending an eight-game losing skid with a win over the Washington Mystics on Wednesday, the Fever fell to the New York Liberty on Sunday, 101-83. Following New York’s 44-point first quarter, Indiana outscored the Liberty, 66-57, through the remaining three quarters. The Fever were led in the scoring column by Victoria Vivians’ 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Vivians has been the replacement in the starting lineup the last two games for NaLyssa Smith and also recorded a season-high four steals as well as five rebounds, three assists and a block.

Erica Wheeler added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Kelsey Mitchell pitched in 13 points and four assists. Grace Berger came off the bench to record nine points, a new career best five assists and four rebounds.

The Fever are led by their All-Stars, sixth-year guard Mitchell and rookie center Aliyah Boston, who average 16.6 points and 14.8 points respectively. Mitchell is shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc through Indiana’s 22 games this season and currently ranks in the WNBA top 20 for scoring average. Boston leads the league in field goal percentage shooting 60.2 percent (127-of-211) from the floor and has consistently led all 2023 rookies in scoring average, blocks (1.3 bpg), rebounds (8.0 rpg), and minutes played (30.4 mpg).

Rookie guard Grace Berger has seen her playing time double over the past few games after she played a career-high 36 minutes and scored a career-high 15 points in Indiana’s overtime loss with the Liberty on July 12. Berger enters the matchup averaging 9.0 points and playing 25.8 minutes per contest in the last three games.

Reserve forwards Emma Cannon and Kristy Wallace have also offered impactful minutes off the bench recently. Cannon, who tied a career-best 19 points off of a season-best seven field goals on July 12, is averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Wallace, who earned her first starting nod of the season in the win over the Mystics on July 19, is scoring an average of 6.8 points per game.

For Los Angeles, the Sparks enter the matchup in the midst of an eight-game losing streak. Most recently, Los Angeles was defeated by the Dallas Wings, 98-84 on Saturday. Forward Dearica Hamby was the leading scorer in the matchup as she totaled 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the court. She was followed by Nneka Ogwumike and Jordin Canada who each totaled 16 points, while Canada also dished out a game-high seven assists.

The Sparks are led by the 12th-year forward Ogwumike, who leads the team in points (19.6 ppg) and rebounds (9.3 rpg). Ogwumike enters the matchup ranked sixth in the WNBA in scoring average and fifth in rebounds per game. Guard Lexie Brown is averaging 13.4 points per contest and Canada is averaging 12.8 points per contest to go along with an average of a team-leading 1.7 steals per game. In addition, Canada currently ranks sixth in the league in assists per game, averaging 5.8 assists per contest.

Probable Starters

Indiana Fever (6-16)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (16.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Guard – Erica Wheeler (9.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.9 apg)
Guard – Lexie Hull (5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.2 spg)
Forward – Victoria Vivians (5.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg)

Los Angeles Sparks (7-15)

Guard – Jordin Canada (12.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.8 apg)
Guard – Layshia Clarendon (8.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.8 apg)
Guard – Lexie Brown (13.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Forward – Nneka Ogwumike (19.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.6 spg)
Center – Azurá Stevens (8.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.1 spg)

Game Status Report

Indiana: NaLyssa Smith – out (left foot stress fracture)
Los Angeles: TBA