INDIANAPOLIS – In the 2023 regular season opener, the Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun, 70-61, in front of 7,356 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night.
In her WNBA debut, Fever center Aliyah Boston put her stamp on the league with 15 points and nine rebounds. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana as she recorded a game-high 20 points in the season opener. Queen Egbo provided support off the bench on the defensive end as she contributed three blocks and six rebounds on the night. NaLyssa Smith tied Boston with a team-high nine rebounds.
Indiana (0-1) started the game off on a slow start that Connecticut was quick to take advantage of, as the Sun (1-0) grabbed a quick 11-point lead on the way to the wire-to-wire victory.
The second quarter belonged to Mitchell, whose two three-pointers made halfway through the second quarter helped bring a 15-point lead down to five. Mitchell finished with 11 of her 20 points in the second quarter alone.
The Sun came out of the locker room and outscored Indiana 23-15 in the third quarter. Fever guard Kristy Wallace scored all five of her points in the quarter.
Indiana brought the raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd to their feet as the lead was reduced down to three with just under two minutes remaining. Connecticut ended the game on an 8-2 run to close out Indiana and earn the first win of the season for the Sun.
Sun forward Alyssa Thomas recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. DeWanna Bonner added a team-high 19 points and Brionna Jones had 13 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Fever head to Barclays Center to take on the New York Liberty on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page.