INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell missed the potential game-winning shot Tuesday against the Dallas Wings. After going on a 14-3 run with 5:49 remaining in their fourth matchup against the Wings this season, Indiana cut the lead to 81-80 with 33 seconds left.
After Wings rookie Paige Bueckers missed a mid-range jumper, the Fever ran in transition with 14 seconds at their disposal. Without a good look, coach Stephanie White called a reset timeout with 1.7 seconds left. Mitchell received the inbound pass, and her contested two-point attempt bounced off the top of the backboard.
The missed shot sealed the victory for the Wings (9-24). The Fever sit sixth in the standings at 18-15.
“We knew it was going to be a low clock when we got it out, and we had been really good in transition, and we were in the penalty, so I wanted us to outlet and attack in transition,” White said, detailing the final possession. “When it got to the point when we didn’t attack and we just started dribbling sideways, I probably should’ve used it (reset timeout) at the three-second mark instead of a little bit later. I thought Kelsey might have had a baseline drive, and she ended up coming back to the middle, and I didn’t like that, but I did want us to put in transition with a low clock and limited opportunity.”
The Fever allowed 27 points off of 17 turnovers. Maddy Siegrist’s 22 points tied a career high and Wings center Li Yueru scored 20 points off the bench. Bueckers shot 6-of-19 and finished with 16 points.
”It’s never fun to lose. I thought we got a pretty good look out of it. But we shouldn’t be in that position to begin with,” Fever forward Chloe Bibby said postgame. “The 17 turnovers got us there, and we shouldn’t have even been there. It’s unfortunate, but on to the next.”
Added White: “It’s tough when you dig yourself a hole. In the first and third quarters, we dug ourselves a hole; turnovers for scores, easy buckets and free throws. I continue to be proud of the grit and toughness and resilience of this group, but our margin for error is small to begin with, and now it’s even smaller.”
Fever star Caitlin Clark missed her 11th straight game with a right groin injury that has sidelined her since July 16. With no timetable for Clark’s return and guards Sydney Colson (torn left ACL) and Aari McDonald (broken right foot) out for the season, White said the Fever can’t afford “self-inflicted wounds.”
”We’ve got to be better and more locked in from the jump,” White said.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘We shouldn’t be in that position.’ Rushed and disorganized, Fever’s last second-shot misses
Reporting by Joshua Heron, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
