Indiana Fever at Chicago Sky
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Wintrust Arena | 8 p.m. ET

Broadcast Information
Fever Facebook
Pat Boylan (play-by-play), Chris Denari (analyst)

The Indiana Fever (3-6) travel to Chicago on Thursday to face the Sky at 8 p.m. ET for the second matchup of the regular season.

On June 6 at Wintrust Arena, Indiana and Chicago (5-5) met with the Sky narrowly securing the win against the Fever in overtime, 108-103.

Six Fever players finished the night in double-figures, highlighted by Aliyah Boston’s career-high 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting and 11 rebounds. Fever guard Erica Wheeler ended the night with a double-double as she recorded a new franchise-best 12 assists with 12 points. Kristy Wallace contributed 16 points off the bench, Kelsey Mitchell had 14 points, NaLyssa Smith had 10 points, and Lexie Hull had a season-high 13 points.

Chicago was led by Marina Mabrey in the scoring attack against the Fever as she notched 29 points on the night, followed by Kahleah Copper (24), Dana Evans (20), and Alanna Smith (18). The Sky were outrebounded by the Fever, 35-25.

Indiana enters Thursday night with momentum after defeating the Washington Mystics, 87-66, Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The first home win of the regular season was the franchise’s first double-digit win since 2021, and the first win by at least 20 points since 2019.

Boston made her stamp on the court and in the history books in the win against Washington. Boston contributed her third double-double of the season as she poured in a game-high 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting while recording season-high totals in rebounds (14) and assists (6). She becomes the youngest player in WNBA history to have a 20-10-5 game on at least 75 percent shooting, per ESPN Stats & Info, and the first rookie in WNBA history to lead all players in points, rebounds, and assists in a single game, per Elias Stats Bureau.

Boston currently leads the league in field goal percentage, shooting 67.1 percent from the floor. She has consistently led all 2023 rookies in rebounds (7.9 rpg), assists (2.6 apg), minutes played (28.4 mpg) and blocks (1.4 bpg).

Averaging 17.0 points per game this season, Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also etched her name into Fever history against Washington as her 19 points on the night moved her into second on the all-time franchise scoring list. Mitchell, who enters the matchup in Chicago with 2,581 career-points, surpassed Katie Douglas with 2,564 points and now ranks behind only Tamika Catchings.

Indiana’s defense shined in the win as they held Washington to a 33.3 shooting percentage from the floor throughout the 40 minutes (22-of-66), and only 26.7 percent (4-of-15) in the third quarter alone. In addition, the Fever pulled down season-high totals in rebounds (46) and offensive rebounds (14). Queen Egbo tied a season-best in recording 10 rebounds in less than 10 minutes off the bench. She became only the second player in WNBA history to contribute at least 10 rebounds when in the game for less than 10 minutes, per Across the Timeline.

Since the Indiana-Chicago matchup June 6, the Sky followed up their overtime win with two consecutive road losses in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Chicago is led by seventh-year guard Copper and fifth-year guard Mabrey in scoring so far this season, as they average 17.2 and 16.1 points per game, respectively. Most recently, Mabrey poured in 20 points against the Aces and was followed in the scoring column by Copper, who had 18 points on the night. In addition, Sky guard Courtney Williams is averaging team-high totals in both rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (5.0).

Probable Starters

Indiana Fever (3-6)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (17.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Guard – Erica Wheeler (8.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.1 apg)
Guard – Lexie Hull (4.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 spg)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (14.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg)

Chicago Sky (5-5)

Guard – Kahleah Copper (17.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Guard – Courtney Williams (8.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.0 apg)
Guard – Marina Mabrey (16.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 apg)
Forward – Alanna Smith (10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
Center – Elizabeth Williams (8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg)

Game Status Report

Indiana: None
Chicago: TBA