The Indiana Fever lost 91-85 to the Dallas Wings on Thursday night, snapping a five-game winning streak, but Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell delivered a historic performance.
Mitchell scored 37 points on 9-of-18 shooting, extending her streak of consecutive games with 20+ points to 21, breaking a WNBA record previously held by A'ja Wilson. The milestone was confirmed by the league via social media, marking the first time a player has accomplished this feat in a single season.
Mitchell addressed the achievement in a postgame press conference alongside Fever head coach Stephanie White and guard Lexie Hull. "I don’t really take statistics really that serious," she said. "A lot of this stuff is really circumstantial to me." She added, "I wanted to get the dub, and we didn’t get that. So I think keep my focus on the right thing, keeping the main thing the main thing, is important."
The Fever’s loss came despite Mitchell’s offensive outburst. Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, the league’s marquee rookie guards, played central roles in a tense second-quarter sequence. With under 10 seconds remaining in the half, Bueckers fouled Clark by grabbing her arm, drawing a whistle from officials. Clark reacted visibly, firing a pass near Bueckers’ head before the teams headed to the locker room. Bueckers was later assessed a technical foul in the third quarter after arguing with an official following a separate foul on Clark.
Clark finished with 10 points, nine assists, and four rebounds on 4-of-15 shooting, while Bueckers posted 13 points, eight assists, and six rebounds on 5-of-16 shooting. The Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 32 points.
The teams split their season series, with Indiana winning the first meeting 98-87 and Dallas taking the second 91-85. The Fever (24-13) hold the No. 4 playoff seed, while the Wings (21-16) are in eighth place, one game behind the Chicago Sky for the final postseason berth.