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PHOENIX – After an eight-day, four-game road trip, the Indiana Fever return to Indianapolis after a debilitating loss — in multiple ways.
Playing their fifth game in nine days, the Fever suffered their worst defeat of the season Thursday night, a 95-60 loss to Phoenix.
The Fever, who have now lost two straight after a five-game win streak, just couldn’t find their stride against the physical Mercury. They were outrebounded 44-32, turned the ball over 20 times and allowed 23 second-chance points.
“I thought defensively, we had some slippages early on, and that got them on some easy buckets at the rim, their second chance points, that was pretty big for us, their rebounding,” Fever forward Aliyah Boston said postgame. “I think when you look at the grand scheme of things, there’s a lot of things that we can clean up.”
What was more concerning, at least for the long-term outlook of the Fever’s season, was the number of injuries they sustained in the game.
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It started when Sydney Colson left the game with a non-contact knee injury in the first quarter. She landed awkwardly on her left leg after going for a rebound, and her knee buckled inward. She fell to the ground, looking to be in immense pain and had to be helped off the floor without putting any weight on her left leg.
Colson was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game and did not return to the bench.
The Fever have not announced the severity of Colson’s injury yet, as they plan to do additional evaluations when they return to Indianapolis.
Typically, however, non-contact knee injuries are never good. Colson’s knee buckled in a way that could indicate an ACL tear, and that injury, if confirmed, would put her out for the season. ACLs can be tested with some exercises, but tears can only be definitively seen with an MRI.
Indiana’s point guard depth took a lethal hit, too, when Aari McDonald left the game limping in the fourth quarter. McDonald eventually went back to the locker room with a trainer in the fourth and did not return.
Fever coach Stephanie White said postgame McDonald, who is the Fever’s starting point guard with Caitlin Clark out, has a right foot injury.
“We’ll get some more evaluation when we get home tomorrow, and see where we are,” White said of both Colson and McDonald’s injuries.
These injuries leave the Fever with no healthy point guards on the roster, as Clark has been out since June 15 with a right groin injury with no timetable for return.
Those injuries — as well as McDonald’s early foul trouble against Phoenix — forced both Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham to play out of position Thursday night, sharing duties as the Fever’s emergency backup point guards.
It’s not the type of game White wants to play, as Mitchell excels playing off the ball and Cunningham is typically someone who can catch the long-range passes Indiana’s point guards throw. It messed with their rhythm, along with putting more strain on those two players.
“Nobody wants to see a teammate go down like that,” White said of Colson’s injury. “But also, on the floor, that’s another point guard, a primary ball-handler, you know, someone who is a big part of our rotation on both ends of the floor. And so you go down one guard, and it puts more pressure on Kelsey and Sophie and Lexie (Hull) to play a little bit heavier minutes.”
It wasn’t a pretty game for Indiana, which lost a lot of steam in a 35-point loss. But Indiana doesn’t have time to dwell on this game. The season continues with just one off-day for the Fever, as they will host the Chicago Sky in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
No matter the injury situation, no matter what happened in the last game, the Fever have to be ready to play.
“There are going to be days where we don’t make shots,” White said. “There are going to be days where you feel like you’re stuck in mud. We’re not immune to that, like any other team, but it’s about the bigger picture of how we respond to that. This group was still tight in our huddles, this group was still engaged in timeouts. This group was still going out and executing on both ends, and that’s what it’s about. This is a group that’s been through a lot this entire season, and we love each other, we pull for each other, and I think that in moments like this, you continue to see that.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
