CHICAGO – The Indiana Fever (4-6) defeated the Chicago Sky, 92-90, at Wintrust Arena on Thursday night. The second consecutive win for Indiana was the first win at Chicago since June 21, 2019.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, followed up a game-tying free throw from Sky guard Dana Evans with a completed midrange jumper to put the Fever ahead by two with 1.1 seconds on the clock. Chicago was unable to convert on its last possession and Indiana closed out the win to advance to Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Atlanta.

Indiana was led in scoring by rookie center Aliyah Boston, who notched 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the court. She became the fifth player in WNBA history to record at least 150 points and 70 rebounds on 50 percent shooting through 10 games, and the only one of the group to shoot better than 60 percent, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Boston was followed in scoring by Victoria Vivians, who recorded a season-high 17 points off the bench, as well as NaLyssa Smith and Mitchell who each pitched in 15 points. Both Boston and Smith pulled down eight rebounds individually.

The Boston-Smith-Mitchell combination shot 100 percent from the free throw line (17-of-17), which is 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, per Across the Timeline. As a team, Indiana made a season-high 21 free throws.

The Fever got off to a slow start as the Sky opened the first five minutes of the game with a 15-6 scoring run, shooting 75 percent (6-of-8) from the floor. Boston contributed eight points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting clip to lead the Indiana effort in shrinking the early 11-point deficit to six going into the second quarter trailing, 23-17.

Indiana’s reserves outscored the Chicago reserves,17-4, in the first half, highlighted by Vivians’ season-high 10 points in the second quarter alone. A completed three-pointer from Maya Caldwell to close out a Fever 11-4 scoring run put Indiana ahead with 5.6 seconds on the clock. After trailing Chicago for the majority of the first half, Indiana went into the locker room leading the Sky, 38-37.

The Fever remained in control of the third quarter, but eventually lost the lead as Chicago’s Marina Mabrey caught fire, scoring 19 of her 36 points on the night in the third quarter alone. Within the quarter, Mitchell recorded nine points and went 2-of-2 from behind the three point arc, while Boston had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting. Indiana trailed Chicago, 71-65, heading into the final frame.

Indiana spent the first six minutes of the final quarter working toward erasing the Chicago lead, finally moving back in front with four minutes left in the game. A strong defensive effort from Fever guard Maya Caldwell kept Mabrey contained to close out the game, as Mabrey only had two field goal attempts and three points in the quarter. Mabrey did not score in the last 9:24 of the game.

For Chicago, only seven Sky players took to the floor after Kahleah Copper was ruled out for the game. Mabrey’s career-high 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the floor and 6-of-11 from the three-point line was also the most points scored by a Sky player against Indiana in the regular-season series history. She was followed by Evans in the scoring column, who recorded 21 points off the bench and Robyn Parks pitched in 13 points on the night. Courtney Williams led the team with a season-high 10 assists.

UP NEXT
The Fever return home to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday to take on the Atlanta Dream at 4 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page and CBS Sports Network.