Connecticut’s Tina Charles (31) scored 21 points in Sunday’s WNBA game against Indiana in Uncasville. (Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
In a forgettable season, the Connecticut Sun provided a memorable finish for the Indiana Fever on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.
The Sun were officially eliminated from WNBA playoff contention when the Fever erased a 21-point deficit to beat Connecticut, 99-93 in overtime behind a career-high 38 points from Kelsey Mitchell.
The battered Fever overcame another injury to a starter when Sophie Cunningham hurt her knee in the first quarter when Bria Harley fell on her knee. The Fever have been without All-Star Caitlyn Clark since July 15 due to a groin injury and lost guards Aari McDonald (broken foot) and Sydney Colson (ACL) on July 30 in Phoenix.
Mitchell had just four points at the half and she missed her first seven shots from the floor. She finished with 34 in the second half and overtime. She scored Indiana’s first 10 points in the extra session.
It is the biggest comeback in Fever history.
“It’s speechless, really,” Fever coach Stephanie White said afterwards. “She just put us on her back. Made big shot after big shot. Big play after big play. She didn’t settle. She stayed aggressive and she willed us (to victory).”
Connecticut’s Tina Charles gave the Sun a two-point lead, 84-82, with 32.5 seconds remaining only to see Aliyah Boston hit a 16-foot jumper with 21.8 seconds remaining to tie the game.
The Sun (6-27) had one last opportunity, but Marina Mabrey missed a driving layup with 1.7 seconds left in regulation.
In overtime, Mitchell scored Indiana’s first 10 points with a pair of three-point shots. Her three-pointer with 2:55 remaining gave the Fever a 92-86 lead.
Sun head coach Rachid Meziane said his team didn’t adjust in the second half.
“We were switching on screens,” he said in defending Mitchell, who came into the game fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. “She found some mismatches. It’s our fault. She is a good player. We gave her too many opportunities to find mismatches. Every time we switched, she punished us.”
Mabrey led the Sun with 27 points and five assists while Charles added 21 points, pulled down six rebounds and had three assists. It was the eleventh time that Charles has scored more than 20 this season.
Rookie guard Saniya Rivers had 15 points, two assists and a career-high five blocks. Rookie guard Leila Lacan had seven points and a team-leading 14 assists – a new rookie record for most assists in franchise history.
But it wasn’t enough to stop a franchise record 27th defeat.
“We got a bit complacent. We have to put 40 minutes together, focus on one-on-one defense,” Rivers said.
Only six players scored for Indiana (19-16). Boston had 14 points with 13 rebounds while Odyssey Sims scored 19 points. Natasha Howard had 18 points and nine rebounds.
“They are selfless. They are tough. They don’t care who gets the credit,” White said of her Fever. “They don’t care whose day it is. They just got something inside of them that you can’t teach. They bring it out of each other and it allows us to get through the incredibly tough times we’re going through and always have a chance (to win).”
The Sun had five of their seven steals in the first quarter and forced nine Indiana turnovers to take a 24-11 lead after one quarter.
Mabrey and Charles had 12 points each in the first half as the Sun took a 19-point lead, 48-29, into the locker room.
Things got a lot closer in the second half thanks to Mitchell and challenging defense that limited the Sun to poor shooting. Connecticut made just 6-of-17 shots (35 percent) in the third quarter.
The Fever were able to tie the game twice, 77-77, and 79-79 before a Mabrey three put the Sun up 82-79 with 1:32 to play in the game. Mitchell answered with an and-one lay-up tying the game once again, 82-82 with 44.7 seconds to go in regulation.
The Sun return to action on Tuesday night with the first of two games with Washington. Connecticut visits the Mystics on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. start and host the Mystics on Thursday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena with a 7 p.m. contest.
Connecticut closes out a busy week (four games in seven days) on Saturday at Chicago with a 4 p.m. start on CBS Sports Network.
Connecticut had qualified for the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, last missing the WNBA playoffs in 2016 in head coach Curt Miller’s first season.
