Paths diverge for Sky and Fever without Reese, Clark

INDIANAPOLIS — Sky, Fever. Two rivals adapting without their centerpieces — Caitlin Clark for the Fever and Angel Reese for the Sky. Clark has been sidelined since the All-Star break, and Reese has appeared in only two games during that stretch.

The Fever, however, have adapted better. They are 6-3 since the break, while the Sky have won just one game.

That trend continued Saturday night when the Fever cruised to a 92-70 victory. It was the fourth time this season the Sky have fallen to the Fever.

There were no shortage of execution issues for the Sky, a lack of pace and ball movement among them. But the bottom line? The Fever’s secondary stars outperformed the Sky’s. Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston, both All-Stars, were exceptional.

Boston put on a clinic in the post, finishing with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Mitchell led the Fever with 26 points, including four threes. Mitchell’s handle was on full display, creating shots with ease.

“She’s one of the best players in this league and arguably the toughest in terms of the ability to keep her in front,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said.

In contrast, the Sky’s secondary stars, Kamilla Cardoso and Ariel Atkins, didn’t impress. Cardoso’s performance was particularly disappointing after a strong stretch of games. She finished with just six points on 3-for-8 shooting, though she did add 12 rebounds. The Sky struggled to find her in the low post, and when they did, Boston was quick to shut her down.

Marsh said Cardoso did well operating from the high post early in the game but grew frustrated after no calls went her way. She finished with no free-throw attempts, and the overall free-throw count was 19 for the Fever and four for the Sky.

“For a player to shoot at the rim as much as Kamilla does and to continuously go game after game without getting to the line, it’s frustrating,” Marsh said.

But the offensive struggles extended beyond Cardoso. The Sky knew that the Fever were likely to play zone but had no answer for it.

Banham was the only Sky player to score in double figures, finally hitting a three-pointer with a minute left in the third quarter to put her at 11 points.

“We didn’t play with pace, and we didn’t play aggressive,” Banham said. “We played right into their zone.”

Atkins, still easing back from a calf injury, finished with only eight points. Marsh said the Sky are still limiting her minutes.

The Fever, meanwhile, were also shorthanded. Their two backup point guards suffered season-ending injuries earlier in the week, but the Sky failed to capitalize. Sophie Cunningham, a utility player, stepped up to run point and hit three threes in the process. Two of those came during a critical run in the second quarter, when Sky turnovers fueled transition buckets for the Fever.

Still, despite the need for speed on the perimeter, Marsh seemed hesitant to use newly acquired point guard Sevgi Uzun. She played just four minutes and didn’t check in during garbage time.

Marsh said the decision wasn’t about Uzun’s performance but rather a desire to give rookie Hailey Van Lith a look. She played 14 minutes, scoring four points on 2-for-5 shooting.

The Sky’s lone bright spot offensively came off the bench from Becca Allen, who attacked the Fever’s zone and got to the rim.

“I’m just trying to be intentional in doing that as much as I can because I think we, as a group, need to get more of that downhill attack,” said Allen, who finished with nine points on 4-for-7 shooting.