BRADENTON, Fla. – The Indiana Fever selected forward Lauren Cox with the third overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft back on April 17. Cox joined her Fever teammates at IMG Academy last week and made her anticipated debut on Wednesday night in an 86-75 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Cox checked in for first time in her WNBA career with 3:43 remaining in first quarter and made her impact on the glass, ending the night with six rebounds in 16:49 of playing time.
Fellow Fever rookie Kathleen Doyle recorded her first made field goal in her career after knocking down a 3-point shot with 14.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Doyle ended with three points and two steals in just over 11 minutes of action off the bench.
Despite trailing by 21 with 8:11 remaining in the game, Indiana went on 21-7 run to cut the deficit to seven for one final run in the final two minutes. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell poured in 12 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter behind a 5-of-5 clip from the free throw line. Mitchell added four assists and shot 8-of-16 from the floor on Wednesday.
Candice Dupree continued her stellar scoring start to the season with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Teaira McCowan did everything she could in the first half to keep the Sparks within reach ending with 11 of her 13 points at the break.
The Sparks, who have won four consecutive games against the Fever, were paced by 18 points and 11 rebounds from Candace Parker. It was Parker’s third consecutive double-double. Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams added 16 and 13 points each.
Indiana will meet the Sparks for the final time during the abbreviated regular season next Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
UP NEXT
Indiana takes on Minnesota for the first time this season on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. At no cost to fans in Indiana, Friday’s game can be streamed at FeverBasketball.com, on the Indiana Fever’s Facebook page, or via the Fever app.