The Indiana Fever have been on a roll lately, and they’re doing it without Caitlin Clark. Clark has been out for 16 straight games with a groin injury, yet the Fever (20-18) sit comfortably at 6th in the standings after Tuesday’s 95-75 win over the Storm (20-19). They’ve gone 8-5 with Clark on the floor, but even without her, they’ve managed to stay competitive at 12-13. Credit goes to the squad’s grit and hustle, with Kelsey Mitchell calling them “the most resilient team I’ve ever been a part of.” And of course, Aliyah Boston has been leading the charge, even setting a franchise record along the way.

And she has done it while dealing with the absence of those who elevate her game. Head coach Stephanie White couldn’t stop praising Aliyah Boston after Tuesday’s game, saying, “Yeah, I mean you know again I just AB’s been the one that’s been most affected by all of our injuries. You know, all of the point guards that know how to get her the ball and um how they get it to her. And it’s not just getting her the ball, it’s where you get it to her, you know, getting it to her on time, on target, you know, thinking one pass ahead, you know, all that matters.”

Well, Boston has been showing major improvement, averaging 14.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 25 career games without Caitlin Clark (Statmuse). She was also a major driving force behind the Fever’s five-game win streak (longest since winning six straight in 2015), leading them to victories over the Seattle Storm, Dallas Wings, Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky, and Las Vegas Aces. But it wasn’t always like this. There were stretches she had to weather.

Earlier in the season, after Caitlin Clark went down with a left groin injury, the Fever had to adjust—and Aliyah Boston felt the effects right away. In nine games with Clark active, Boston was cruising at 18.6 points per game. But in the six games after Clark’s injury, her scoring dipped to 11.2, like someone had pulled the plug on her offense. And it didn’t stop there. By August 12, as ESPN pointed out, the difference had only grown clearer: in games Clark had missed, Boston’s true shooting percentage dropped from 63.2% to 56.7%, and her scoring slid from 13.9 points per game all the way down to 6.9. In fact, the trend only worsened during Clark’s third absence.

Aliyah Boston, too, kept it real when asked about the difference between playing with and without Caitlin Clark this season, especially as Indiana adjusts to her inconsistent presence due to injury. “I think when you have Caitlin on the floor, everything is automatically spaced. The floor is spaced, defenses are high because she comes across half-court, you can set an early drag, and there’s a deep three going up, and there’s a great chance she’s making it,” Boston explained. “When she’s not on the floor, then obviously, (they) can shrink (the floor) a little bit.”

Still, while the stat sheet made the impact of Clark’s absence painfully obvious, Boston started stepping up in a major way, and we do not see any signs of going back. She even made franchise history recently. More on that after reading why White thinks there is no one who can stop Boston.

And so, White added, “Um, and I thought today her aggressiveness with the ball in her hands to the rim, getting into defenders, playing low to high instead of high to low. Uh when she plays like that, you know, there’s nobody that can stop her. And you know, she was she set the tone for us um really on both ends. You know, she had the NECA assignment as well and set the tone for us on both ends and um you know she was she was terrific.”

Aliyah Boston makes Fever history with fastest career rebounds

Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse turned out to be a huge one for the Indiana Fever, especially for forward Aliyah Boston. The All-Star led the way with 27 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while making franchise history in the process. According to the Fever’s social media, Boston became the youngest player in team history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, needing just 118 games to hit the milestone — the fastest in franchise history. Entering the game, Boston was averaging 15.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 54.6% from the field and 77.9% from the free-throw line. She has quickly emerged as one of the league’s best post and pick-and-roll forwards, thriving especially when paired with Caitlin Clark, who’s already among the league’s elite passers.

It wasn’t just Boston making history on Tuesday. Kelsey Mitchell had a big night of her own, breaking the Fever’s single-season record for points scored with 787 points and counting. At this point, she’s averaging 20.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, carrying a heavy load for Indiana amid a season full of roster challenges. The Fever were touted as perennial title contenders heading into the season with a starting five of Mitchell, Clark, Natasha Howard, Boston, and DeWanna Bonner. But injuries to key players like Aari McDonald and Syd Colson, plus Bonner’s departure to the Phoenix Mercury, left Mitchell “on an island all by herself.” Still, she’s remained consistent, and her scoring record highlights just how much she’s stepped up this year.

Coming back to Boston, her dominance doesn’t stop there. Just a few weeks back, she became the Fever’s franchise leader for double-doubles in a single season after recording her 15th of the campaign during a 99-93 overtime win against the Connecticut Sun, putting her ahead of Caitlin Clark’s 14 double-doubles in 2024. Boston has summed up the team’s mindset perfectly, saying, “Right now, we’re just going to be focused on LA. That’s kind of been our motto this entire season, just focus on the game ahead of you. Be where your feet are. And so starting tomorrow, we’re going to be looking at LA…we’ve got to take it one game at a time.”