The underdog Indiana Fever kept on rolling on Sunday following their 89-73 takedown of the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals. Although the Fever are without star guard Caitlin Clark due to injury, Clark has been very vocal on social media during the team’s playoff run. Clark continued her social media trend following the Fever’s Game 1 win against the Aces with a simple two-word reaction.
“Kelsey unreal,” Clark posted on social media after the win. The post was in response to backcourt teammate Kelsey Mitchell who went off against the Aces. Mitchell finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with one rebound, three assists and two steals in 34 minutes. She shot 12-of-23 from the field, 4-of-6 from the three-point line and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Since Clark went down with a groin injury, Mitchell has stepped up a big way. Mitchell is a star in her own right, and the longest-tenured player on the roster. During the Fever’s opening round series win against the Atlanta Dream, Mitchell averaged a playoff career-high 23.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists with splits of 46.8 percent shooting from the field, 44.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 94.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
With the win, the Fever took an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Game 2 will also be played on the Aces homecourt before the series shifts to Indiana.
Last season, during Clark’s rookie year, she and Mitchell were among the top backcourt pairings in the WNBA. Provided that Mitchell is back next season, Fever fans must be salivating at the potential with Clark’s return. Mitchell re-signed with the Fever this past offseason on a one-year supermax contract. With the WNBA CBA set to expire this coming offseason, no players signed past this year.
