By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com

Aari McDonald knew she belonged in Indiana after just two outings with the Fever. Following a short stint with the club on an emergency hardship contract due to multiple injured players, McDonald garnered interest from other WNBA teams. She turned them down to pursue a reunion with the Fever.

“In the back of my mind I just knew this was the place to be,” McDonald said after returning to Indiana.

Few mid-season additions are as immediately impactful as McDonald has been for the Fever. Indiana is 5-3 in the games that she’s played, including Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup championship.

McDonald lifts Indiana’s ceiling on both ends of the floor – something coach Stephanie White admits is rare.

“Her ability to impact on both ends – oftentimes when you make decisions mid-season, it’s one end or the other, typically,” White said. “Her impact on both ends of the floor – offensively, her ability to see the floor, her defensive energy and intensity.

“She never looks like she gets tired. She makes all the hustle plays. She’s just relentless. And you know, it’s a shot in the arm for our team and something that we’ve needed, and she’s answered the call. We’re very fortunate that we were able to get her.”

McDonald is posting career-highs in minutes, points, rebounds, and assists in her handful of games with the Fever. Her playmaking has been an invaluable addition to the team as Caitlin Clark remains sidelined – now for five straight games – with a groin injury.

McDonald recorded eight assists and just one turnover in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. She notched six or more assists in three of Indiana’s last four games, and posted an 8-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist statline in Thursday’s win over the Las Vegas Aces.

“We said, ‘We’re just thankful for you. We thank God for you every single day,’” Aliyah Boston said the team told McDonald. “I just think her impact – you see it even just looking at the plus minus…Whether it’s scoring, it’s defending, it’s getting us into offense, it’s making the right reads, making the right pass. I think she’s just been the perfect missing piece for us.”

“Perfection,” Kelsey Mitchell added.

The fifth-year guard and former third overall pick is signed with Indiana for the remainder of the season.

The Fever’s primary sources of offense on Saturday got to their spots as a result of McDonald’s dynamic play. Of her eight assists, four found Boston on her way to a 23-point night. McDonald contributed to Mitchell’s 19 points and Natasha Howard’s 21, too.

McDonald fought until the bitter end on Saturday, playing scrappy, physical defense and exerting maximum effort down to the final minute. She forced a steal with 30 seconds on the game clock and the Fever down just a point. Indiana couldn’t capitalize on that trip down the floor, but McDonald kept fighting.

Playing with five fouls, McDonald didn’t let up on defense and wasn’t fearful of fouling out. She did collect her sixth foul and was disqualified with just three seconds remaining in the game, but it didn’t shift McDonald’s energy. She didn’t give up, not even at the very end.

“Aari’s one of those plug and play players,” White said. “She comes in and you know that she’s going to give you everything that she has. And she can set the tone on the defensive end…[she can] play bigger than her matchup sometimes. But she came in and was a plug and play player, and earned that trust right away.”

The Fever respect Aari McDonald – they respect her hustle and dedication to their goals. And she’ll keep fighting to contribute to those goals with the same level of confidence she felt when she waited for an opportunity to return to the Fever roster. Because she knew in her mind, in her heart, that she belonged in Indiana.