Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark star as Indiana Fever claims 81-74 victory over Minnesota Lynx
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark put in strong performances as the Indiana Fever continued its solid run with a 81-74 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
Boston recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to go along with four blocks while Clark scored 17 points as well as providing six assists – taking her past Sue Bird for second place on the WNBA’s all-time rookie assists list with 194 – three rebounds and two steals in the win.
The Fever’s clinical play in the fourth was the catalyst for Sunday’s victory at a sold-out Target Center in Minneapolis; the team outscored the Lynx 28-14 with Clark scoring or assisting on the first 14 points in the final frame.
The victory is Indiana’s second on the bounce and means it now has a 6-4 record in the last 10 games. The team currently sits seventh in the overall WNBA standings – and third in the East – with its 11-14 record, just a game and a half behind the Phoenix Mercury in sixth.
Afterwards, Clark credited her teammates for their “resiliency” in Sunday’s victory.
“Even when we get down and things don’t go our way, we still find a way to win. And I think we’ve won every game where we’ve held our opponents to under 84 points, so 74 is really good for us,” the 22-year-old point guard told reporters. “Especially in that fourth quarter.
“Like, we played really good defense, we were switching, we were communicating. But I think you can start to tell we’re just getting more comfortable overall playing with each other, our chemistry. We know where our teammates are going to be and then also just setting our teammates up for success – like put them in position they can be successful in and I think we’ve done a better job at that.”
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell had a game-high 21 points, her seventh 20+ point game this season. She also tied Leilani Mitchell for 18th on the WNBA’s all-time three-point list.
It was the second game in a row where Mitchell, Clark, Boston and NaLyssa Smith all scored in double figures.
For the Lynx – who sit fourth in the WNBA standings with a 16-8 record – forward Alanna Smith led the way with 18 points and was one of five Minnesota players to score in double figures.
The Fever will next be in action against the Dallas Wings on Wednesday while the Lynx take on the Atlanta Dream the same day.
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