Caitlin Clark, Fever proceed playoff push vs. Mercury

After nearly a month off, superstar rookie guard Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever return to action and continue their pursuit of a spot in the WNBA playoffs when they host the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.

The Fever (11-15) lost to the Dallas Wings 101-93 in their final game before the break for the Summer Olympics. Indiana had won its previous two games before losing to Dallas, topping the Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx.

Before the break, Clark tallied 10 assists and four points in her first WNBA All-Star game, helping the WNBA All-Stars top the U.S. Olympic team. Two of her Fever teammates — Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston — were also All-Stars. Mitchell scored 13 points while Boston notched four points.

Next year’s All-Star Game will be played in Indianapolis, where Clark and her teammates will likely take center stage in front of their home fans.

However, that’s a ways away. Right now, the Fever are hoping that the recent Olympic break has rejuvenated them as they shoot for a playoff berth.

“I think the Olympic break definitely does help for a team that hasn’t been together for a long time, like us,” Fever guard Erica Wheeler said. “To be able to get these practices and be able to get some real runs in and really hit it hard and have days off I think is super important.”

Added Fever forward NaLyssa Smith: “It’s been huge for us. It’s time to work on us. You get to work on the small things, defensively, offensive rebounds.”

Clark is averaging 17.1 points and a league-leading 8.2 assists while shooting 32.7 percent from 3-point range. The Olympic break provided a breather for Clark, who played in her final college game on April 7 and then made her preseason WNBA debut on May 3. Essentially, the rookie has been playing nearly non-stop since last November.

Speaking of breaks, the three Olympians on the Mercury didn’t get much of one. Diana Taurasi, Kahleah Copper and Brittney Griner will be playing in their second game since returning from France with Team USA’s eighth consecutive gold medal. Behind 29 points from Copper, the Mercury (14-12) beat the host Chicago Sky 85-65 on Thursday in their return to WNBA action.

“The exciting thing for us and her is that we were getting her in her prime,” first-year Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said of Copper.

Copper, who played crucial minutes in the fourth quarter and hit the game-winning free throws in Team USA’s gold medal win over France, ranks second in the WNBA in scoring this season with an average of 23.4 points per game.

“That’s what Kah does,” Taurasi said of Copper. “She’s competed all year for us and we knew when things get tight, she’s always the opposite. She can do things that no one else can do on our team — national team or here at the Mercury.”

–Field Level Media