Kelsey Mitchell marks 34 as fever shock in the opener of the series in the semi-finals Wnba | Wgb
Kelsey Mitchell scored a 34-point High in playoffs and Indiana fever beat the Las Vegas Aces 89-73 Sunday in match 1 of the semi-finals series.
After having seen their two-digit advance shrinking three points with 2:51 to do in the third, the fever ended the quarter on a race of 11-0 to extend its advantage at 14 points, taking control of the game and never looking back.
Mitchell, who finished fifth in MVP voting with 93 points, scored 17 points in the first half, giving the tone to the fever offensive. The veteran guard, which ended the regular season, ranked third by scoring 20.2 points per match, pulled 12 out of 23 (52.2%) from the ground, including 4 out of 6 points in its very first match in the semi-finals.
“I think what you see is that I try to be a child in the playground,” said Mitchell, whose score was the second highest in the history of the franchise.
Odyssey Sims had 17 points, while Natasha Howard finished with a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). The fever ended the match by hitting 50% of the soil (34 out of 68), while the ACES pulled only 29 out of 71 (40.8%).
“We wanted to come to the attacker right away to make sure that we say on the defensive, and we say from the point of view of the rhythm,” said fever Stephanie White. “We knew that they were going to go shopping. They made a big one in the third and we answered with a big one. It’s a match, it’s a long series … But coming here and being able to steal it was great for us.”
The victory spoiled the celebration of A’ja Wilson after she became the first WNBA player to win four MVPs in her career. The 29 -year -old, who was also appointed player of the year AP, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson only pulled 27.3% (6 out of 22) in the field. Jackie Young led the Aces with 19 points, while Dana Evans left the bench to score 14 points and Chelsea Gray collected 13.
Las Vegas had not lost at home since August 2, when the Lynx of Minnesota to seeded gave the AS the worst home defeat in the history of the WNBA, a beat of 53 points. From that moment, the AS closed the regular season during a 16 -game victories sequence before defeating the Seattle storm in the first round.
The victory was even more impressive, given that the aces entered the match without a single player on the injured list, while the fever had six. Already in digital disadvantage without Chloe Bibby (left knee), Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left knee), Sophie Cunningham (right knee) and Aari McDonald (right foot), Indiana added Damiris Dantas to the list, as she was in a concussion protocol.
