There comes a point where a team can’t just take it anymore. It seemed the Indiana Fever were at that point after Sophie Cunningham limped off the court with a knee injury that looked very serious. The scoreboard read 13-28 at the time, and nothing seemed to be going their way. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard were being blocked off in the paint while also facing foul trouble. The Sun were solid on their defense, and the shots were just not falling, especially for Kelsey Mitchell.

However, like champions do, Mitchell forgot all about her woes after the halftime break and came out all guns blazing. The shooting guard led the Fever from a 21-point deficit to force OT in the final seconds of the game. And then everyone knew what the outcome was going to be because once Mitchell is on a heater, no one can stop her.

The Fever carried their momentum to a glorious 99-93 victory. Caitlin Clark, who was away from this game because of personal reasons, was still tuned in to support her team as she wrote in an excited fashion, “KELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!” You know, Mitchell did something crazy for Clark to give a reaction like this. Mitchell made history, dropping 38 points and 6 assists, which tied her career high.

She also shattered Fever legend Tamika Catchings’ record, racking up her 11th career game with 30+ points, the most in franchise history. It was her 3rd 30+ point game this season, and what an occasion to break the record in. Fever trailed by 19 at the break, and Mitchell had only 4 points on the board. It looked like the Sun was going to get the better of them for the second time, and the season is effectively over. Mitchell turned up the heat, and the Sun just couldn’t stop her. With this win, the Fever avoided a 6th loss in their last 7 games to put some gap between them and the hard-charging Storm and the Sparks.

Stephanie White Had Immense Praise For Kelsey Mitchell After The Game

It has not been just this one game or the past few. Mitchell has carried Indiana from day 1 this season. When Caitlin Clark was struggling in the field, who was there? Mitchell. When Clark bowed out and the team was disconnected, it was Mitchell who stepped up into a leadership role. When they lost both of their point guards, it was Mitchell who had to adjust. Even with all that, she continued to score in bunches. And this was just the “hey look at me” performance, as she has just pulled off a heist.

Stephanie White said after the game, “Speechless, really. … Just put us on her back, made big shot after big shot, big play after big play.”

Step back three? Check. Driving to the hole? Mitchell was on it. Looking back, Connecticut really had no chance with Mitchell in this form. The shooting guard was the one who tied the game for Indiana with just 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter. She drove into the paint with multiple defenders on her and made an extremely difficult layup while earning a foul. The Fever remained with the Sun since, and even had the chance to win it in regulation with 1.4 seconds to go, but they could not get the shot off. Like White further said, “She willed us.” After Cunningham’s injury, the mood in Indiana camp seemed glum.

No one was in the mood to compete as they had lost another one of their key players, but Mitchell was in no mood to lose another one. When overtime hit, she carried the momentum, scoring the Fever’s first basket and giving them their first lead since 4-3. As soon as Connecticut tied it up, Mitchell responded with back-to-back threes, putting the game on ice and sealing the win.

Apart from just Mitchell, they had Natasha Howard with 18 points and 9 rebounds, and the ever-reliable Aliyah Boston added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. More importantly, they had a solid point guard in Odyssey Sims, who scored 19 points plus a team-high seven assists. It seems White’s punt to start Sims over Hull paid off after all. While Fever is still afloat at 19-16, they face the Minnesota Lynx twice next, which will be a much steeper test than today.