Fever defense no-shows vs Sparks in ugly loss, Likes and Dislikes
It was an ugly defensive outing for the Fever.
MY KITCHEN, Ind. – Welcome back, Caitlin Clark. The star guard returned to the lineup for the Fever on Wednesday night as they took on the Sparks in Los Angeles. It was the first game for the Fever since losing Justine Pissott, and they were trending toward being whole.
Well, so much for that. It was revealed Wednesday morning that Aliyah Boston wouldn't be playing in LA. She's dealing with a lower leg injury and was ruled out against the Sparks, but head coach Stephanie White said that she would return tomorrow against the Phoenix Mercury (and Clark won't play in that outing since it's a back-to-back).
And so, the Fever were once again not whole*. But they still had two All-Stars playing and were looking to extend their winning streak to three. Likes and Dislikes from Fever vs Sparks.
Tony East
LIKE: Unbelievable speed to start the game
The Fever were absolutely flying up and down the court during the first few minutes of play. Barely over three minutes into the game, the Fever had already taken 10 shots.
They were getting into their actions early and pushing hard in transition after stops. Kelsey Mitchell, in particular, was hunting her shots – she had seven points already about halfway through the first quarter.
Speed, in a vacuum, isn't always a good thing. In this instance – with Clark being available and the Fever playing against the league's worst defense – speed was exactly what they needed. And it was a clear focus early.
DISLIKE: Sudden injuries*
Hey, remember that thing about the Fever being whole? Well, that didn't happen.
Boston was out, of course. And the USA Network broadcast reported early in the first quarter that wing Sophie Cunningham suffered back spasms during warmups and was questionable for Fever vs Sparks.
So, the Fever were down a rotation player and had a limited version of Cunningham, at best. Plus, Clark was on a minutes restriction. Role players were going to be important in this one.
(Note: Cunningham did play in this game and entered for the first time with 3:09 to go in the first quarter.)
LIKE: Ty Harris, efficient early
Well, speaking of role players stepping up, Ty Harris was great after entering during the first quarter. Harris checked in for Clark with 6:45 on the clock in the first quarter and the Fever up by six.
She then scored seven of the team's next nine points, hitting all of her first three shot attempts. All three were jump shots. After struggling with her efficiency to start the season, Harris has rounded into form somewhat during recent games.
Harris was the only bench player to do much of note on offense in the first frame. The Fever closed the period poorly – they were up as much as 10, then led just 25-21 after the opening 10 minutes.
LIKE: Monique Billings, on the glass
After nine minutes of court time, Monique Billings had seven rebounds. She was owning the boards for the Fever, pulling in seven of the team's first 18 rebounds.
She made her only shot in that stretch, too. However...
DISLIKE: Monique Billings, fouling
In a game that didn't feature Boston, the Fever needed Billings to produce and stay on the floor. So a pair of aggressive offensive fouls were rough for the team in the middle of the second quarter.
At that time, Billings had three total fouls and two turnovers. White took her out of the game and went with a Myisha Hines-Allen plus Makayla Timpson frontcourt. Billings needed to clear up her mistakes, especially given her importance on the glass.
Foul trouble would end up becoming a theme for the Fever throughout the game – Hines-Allen had far too many, too.
DISLIKE: Stagnant offense
A combination of unique rotations, injuries, poor passing, and a loss of pace led to some ugly offense for the Fever in the second quarter.
With 6:25 on the clock in the period, the Fever reached 32 points. It took them until the 2:36 mark, almost four minutes of action, to reach 36. One of their two baskets in that span came off of a Cunningham steal.
The Fever's offense died, and the Sparks went on a 16-2 run to take a 44-36 lead.
After scoring four points in about four minutes, the Fever put five on the scoreboard during the final 78 seconds of the first half. But they still trailed 48-41 at the break. Their second quarter was ugly.
DISLIKE: An unfocused start to the second half
The Fever were not responding well to the Sparks' physicality. That was a Sparks focus that forward Dearica Hamby noted during an interview on the USA Network broadcast at halftime.
That didn't change to start the second half, and the Fever fell apart in other ways. Two ugly turnovers in the first five minutes. A zero-effort rebound that gave Rae Burrell free points. Little defensive resistance.
Even with Mitchell finding space for a pair of trips to start the third quarter, the Fever's deficit expanded. They called a timeout with 5:01 on the clock in that period trailing by 13 points.
LIKE: Kelsey Mitchell, from deep
Just about nothing was going well for the Fever after their up-tempo start. But if it weren't for Mitchell, things would have been much worse.
Mitchell scored 12 points in the third quarter, and it all came from her outside shot. She went 4/5 from deep in the quarter, almost half of Indiana's total made shots in the frame.
The Fever scored 30 points in the third quarter. That's good, and Mitchell's jumper was a big part of that. But the team's defense was awful, conceding 34 points as their deficit expanded. It was 82-71 after three periods.
DISLIKE: Settling on offense late
While it can be natural to settle for all-in-one solution shots, particularly from beyond the arc, the Fever were settling far too much for difficult threes in the fourth quarter.
They started 2/11 in the frame, including six three point attempts. To their credit, both of the made shots were from deep, but they weren't particularly good looks. There wasn't enough ball movement or rim pressure for the Fever.
And then, on one trip in which they did get to the cup in transition, all three of Mitchell, Billings, and Lexie Hull missed from inside of nine feet. Two of the three shots were rushed. The Fever weren't even giving themselves a chance to come back. They were hurrying too many plays.
DISLIKE: Defensive history, the bad kind
The Fever, after a Nneka Ogwumike basket with about 1:40 to go, officially allowed over 100 points. That's the eighth time they've allowed triple digits in a game this season.
And now, the 2026 Fever are the third team in WNBA history to allow 100+ points in eight or more games during one season. And they've done so in 21 outings, in which Indiana is 1-7.
Indiana just has to defend better if they're going to win. That didn't happen in this one, and the lowly Sparks beat the Fever 106-92. The Fever's winning streak ended as they fell to 12-9.
Yuck. Thank you for reading. A back-to-back tomorrow, so little time to dwell for the Fever ahead of their game in Phoenix. Sign up for another story after that game, sent straight to you.
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