INDIANAPOLIS — It was unofficially a South Carolina hoops fest during the Indiana Fever’s 111-87 win over the Los Angeles Sparks (8-10) on Saturday.
On a night when an injured Caitlin Clark was relegated to street clothes, former Gamecocks Aliyah Boston and Tyasha Harris were thorns on the road team’s side, while Bree Hall and Raven Johnson added their own spark off the bench in a 111-87 blowout win over the Sparks on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Boston tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, while Harris delivered 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in her second start of the season.
Hall added five points, while Johnson chipped in four assists and two points.
“It spurs up through and through,” Harris said on South Carolina’s presence on the team. “We got people come in and they put their spurs up too. It’s great just to have people (that) … were freshman and I was a senior, and vice versa. Just generation in generations, but it’s cool to see everybody else combine and see what we do.”
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Harris was the next woman up, in place of Clark — who was ruled out of Saturday’s game with a back injury. In the first quarter, the Heritage Christian alumna delivered the team’s opening strike with a deep shot against the Los Angeles Sparks, which eclipsed her previous season average of 1.8 points per game.
About a minute later, she drove fast to the paint, outhustled her defender and completed a three-point play. It was an early appetizer to what the six-year WNBA vet cooked up.
Harris filled the spot of a superstar, but her game is wired by its own competitive flair. Her resilience acts like a spear to her game. She suffered a season-ending injury to her patellar tendon in June 2025 as a member of the Dallas Wings. She wasn’t fully cleared until March and a month later, she joined the Fever. Her wound stood no match to her will, a mindset that was carved in stone at South Carolina and showed against the Sparks.
Like Harris, Boston is a knighted Gamecock. Her tenacious spirit, built in part by South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, has radiated through the core of Fever basketball. The former No. 1 pick was a problem down low against the visiting Sparks. Her trademark hustle in the paint, powered by her 6-foot-5 frame, helped the Fever outrebound their latest adversary, 41-25.
Hall, in her second year, earned minutes during the blowout — her second of 12 games she can be active on a developmental contract. In the third frame, she hit a 3-pointer in front of the home bench that got a pop from the crowd and her Indy teammates. Johnson did most of her damage by passing the rock. The rookie led the team with four assists.
“I think Dawn (Staley) did a great job instilling confidence and just teaching us the ropes of being pro-ready,” Harris said. “I think we did good and thanks to her.”
The quartet helped maintain control of the lead for most of Saturday’s contest. The Fever trailed once in four quarters of play and led by as many as 35 points.
On a night when their star player was sidelined, the hoopers that once rocked the college colors of garnet and black flexed their galvanizing powers against a Sparks team that dared to test their grit. They combined for 13 rebounds, were tenacious defensively and refused to let their Indiana fans go home unhappy.
Their South Carolina DNA was embedded in Saturday’s triumph — a catalyst to what the 11-8 Fever are trying to produce in their quest for gold this season.
“The thing I love about all the players who come from South Carolina is that they’re going to be there on the defensive end of the floor,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “Sometimes I forget that all four of them were South Carolina and they do some cheer in the locker room and it’s like they’re overwhelming Gamecocks in there.
“I think it helps because they can communicate with each other and hold each other accountable in a different way. They can understand the nuances of what one another is going through … It’s unique to be able to play with people that you play with in college, and I think their chemistry, their communication, their understanding of one another is helpful.”
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever’s 4 Gamecocks bring energy on Indiana’s South Carolina night: ‘Spurs up through and through’
Reporting by Marc Ray, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marc Ray, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
