SEATTLE – The Indiana Fever extended their win streak to five with a gutsy, 78-74, win over Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Natasha Howard led the team with 21 points, while Sophie Cunningham added on 17 and Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth straight double-double.
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The win pushes the Fever to 17-12 on the season and firmly at No. 5 in the WNBA standings. They have two games left in the West Coast road trip, heading to Los Angeles then Phoenix.
Here are three observations:
Fever survive last-minute push from Storm
Indiana led by 11 points with just under five minutes left in the game. But Seattle wasn’t going to go away quietly.
The Storm, fueled by Fever turnovers and offensive rebounding, went on an 11-0 run to get the game within one point with two minutes left in the game. Skylar Diggins capped the run by stealing the ball from Aari McDonald, running up for a layup. She missed it, but teammate Dominique Malonga grabbed the rebound, missed the layup, grabbed a second offensive rebound, then got it back to Diggins for a made layup, plus a foul.
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Indiana has had some issues with maintaining leads in the second half, but the Fever did just enough to keep the lead. The Storm missed six of their final seven shots after that sequence to get within a point, and Indiana managed to escape Seattle with a win.
Fever extend win streak to five
Sunday’s win over Seattle gives the Fever five wins in a row and firm control over the No. 5 spot in the standings. Indiana and Seattle were tied, record-wise, going into Sunday’s game at 16-12. The Fever now have a two-game lead over the Storm, and they have a chance to clinch the season series when Seattle returns to Indianapolis later this month.
This stretch of games have been crucial for Indiana, which is now on a five-game win streak with wins over top-half teams like Phoenix and Seattle. The Fever, too, have been able to do it with star Caitlin Clark on the sidelines.
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Indiana also had a five-game win streak in 2024, which was a crucial part of their playoff push last year. That Fever team finished No. 6 in the standings at 20-20 and was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Sophie Cunningham gets hot from 3-point range, hits new season high
There wasn’t much stopping Sophie Cunningham beyond the arc on Sunday afternoon.
The Fever guard started the game going 4-for-4 from 3-point range, with her shots marking crucial momentum swings in the game. Her fourth 3-pointer of the day, which came after Kelsey Mitchell drew a take foul in the third quarter, put the Fever up 13 points at that point and forced a frustrated timeout from the Storm.
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Cunningham is a spark for the Fever, whether she is coming off the bench or in the starting lineup. She started the year coming off the bench, but joined the starters in place of Lexie Hull on July 16, the Fever’s last game before the All-Star break.
Hull is primarily more of a defender than a scorer, and Cunningham has brought more scoring to the starting lineup. Cunningham has finished in double figures in six of the eight games she started in this stretch, which has been crucial for the Fever with Caitlin Clark out.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever vs Storm score, stats: Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham key win
