With 5.8 seconds remaining Friday night, the Indiana Fever, who trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, were down by two to the Connecticut Sun, but had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game. They never even got a shot to the rim.
Kelsey Mitchell rolled to the corner off an Aliyah Boston screen, but mishandled a pass from Lexie Hull. As the last few seconds ticked away, Mitchell hurried to regather control and launched a desperate attempt from the baseline that never had a chance.
The Sun held on for an 85-83 win — their first of the season — while the Fever lost their third game in a row, and second without Caitlin Clark in the lineup.
“As far as the last play, it wasn’t clean,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t get it in cleanly. The way it was developing, it looked like were gonna have a good look, but it just wasn’t clean.”
Mitchell’s miscue summed up another disappointing night for the two-time All-Star, who finished with 13 points and five assists on 4 of 15 from the field. Just two nights prior, Mitchell put up 14 points and four assists on 4 of 16 shooting in the Fever’s loss to the Washington Mystics.
In two games without Caitlin Clark, who is…
