Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) rushes up the court Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 107-101. Despite the absence of Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever carry a three-game winning streak into Dallas to battle the Wings on Friday at the American Airlines Center.
Indiana is 2-0 against Dallas this season, including a 94-86 road win also played in Dallas rather than the Wings’ regular home arena in Arlington, Texas.
The Fever (15-12) have won six of their past eight outings, most recently a 107-101 home triumph over Phoenix on Wednesday. Indiana both scored its most points and surrendered its most in a game this year.
Aari McDonald scored a career-high 27 points for the Fever while Aliyah Boston added 22 points and 12 rebounds to rack up her career-best fourth consecutive double-double.
“It was all about confidence,” McDonald said. “I didn’t like the way I had been playing recently. I was just in an attack mentality.”
Indiana played without Clark (groin) for a fifth consecutive game but McDonald and Boston picked up the slack, with 17 of Boston’s points coming in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.
“We’re thinking about that playoff push, and the biggest thing for us is being consistent,” Boston said. “We’ve been saying that all year, and I think this is a good game for us.”
Clark’s availability for Friday’s game is yet to be determined.
The Wings (8-20) conclude a four-game homestand after an 88-85 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday. Rookie Paige Bueckers led Dallas with 21 points, Luisa Geiselsoder added 13 and Arike Ogunbowale and Haley Jones scored 12 points apiece for the Wings.
Bueckers scored nine of her points over the final five minutes of the game and produced her 11th game this season with 20 points or more.
Dallas has lost three of its past four games and could not keep the momentum from a win over New York on Monday. The Wings led by two heading into the fourth quarter on Wednesday and the game was tied after an Ogunbowale 3-pointer with 21.6 seconds to play. But Atlanta canned a late three and denied Dallas at the buzzer.
“Shot-making down the stretch — we just have to be better defensively,” Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. “That’s our next step: getting stops late in games. That said, it shows our resilience and growth. Our offense is in a better place. Now our defense needs to come along with it.”
–Field Level Media
