Caitlin Clark scores 29 as Fever fend off Mercury - ESPN

The Indiana Fever's first victory over the Phoenix Mercury this season, on June 30, is the game that rookie Caitlin Clark believes was a turning point for her team. A third win Friday over the Mercury — 98-89 as Indiana played its first game since the Olympic break — completed a season sweep and moved the Fever closer to a long-awaited playoff spot.

Indiana still has 13 regular-season games to go. But the Fever are in seventh place, a game ahead of eight-place Chicago and three in front of ninth-place Atlanta. The top eight teams make the WNBA playoffs, which Indiana hasn't done since 2016.

After a tough schedule contributed to a 1-8 start, Indiana is now 12-15, and Clark continues to make WNBA history. With 29 points — one off her season high — 10 assists and 5 rebounds Friday, she became the first WNBA rookie to have multiple games of at least 25 points/10 assists/5 rebounds. It was her second such game this season.

Clark had a WNBA record 19 assists in the Fever's last game before the break, on July 17. With 10 assists Friday, her total of 29 is the second highest by a WNBA player in any two-game span. It's second to the New York Liberty's Courtney Vandersloot, who had 30 in a two-game stretch in 2020 while with the Sky.

«I've always been able to understand the court well and see something happen before it happens,» Clark said when asked about how quickly her playmaking skills translated from college to the WNBA. «But I think it's just been developing the chemistry with my teammates, where they can see it and be on the same page. It's having that chemistry that's unspoken.»

Clark had 10 assists in the WNBA All-Star Game, contributing to Team WNBA's 117-109 victory over the U.S. national team, on July 20. After some