Caitlin Clark had 28 points and 12 assists and the Indiana Fever overcame a record nine 3-pointers from Arike Ogunbowale in a 100-93 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 36 points, including a 3-pointer to give the Fever a four-point lead with 1:58 left in a matchup between teams that entered the tournament on an even three-game winning streak.
Ogunbowale completed 9 of 16 from long range — breaking her previous career record of seven — and scored 34 points. The All-Star Game MVP missed two attempts for a record 10th 3-pointer, including one when the Wings trailed by six in the final minute.
Ogunbowale, who tied a personal best with eight rebounds, tied the league record for 3-pointers held by Mitchell (2019) and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd (2023).
“I have respect for people like Arike because off the pitch we are really good friends,” Mitchell said. “We train and train together a lot in the off-season. I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone like him.”
Clark and Mitchell both scored five times from long range, making 10 of 18 shots. The Fever’s goals came from long range, 50% of the time, and from 53% of the shots.
“When you have two guards that are both making plays, it puts the other team in a tough position of what to take away, who to put on who,” Clark said. “We definitely shoot it well. We play off each other well. We find each other and we get downhill. I think it’s a good balance of everything.”
Clark was coming off a career-high 31 points in a win over fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. She set a WNBA record with 19 assists in her first regular-season visit to Texas in the game before the Olympic break, a 101-93 loss to Indiana when the Fever were on the brink of the playoffs.
Indiana (17-16) is now above .500 for the first time with Clark and firmly in the playoff mix, while the Wings (9-23) are still hoping to rebound from a sluggish start caused by injuries to several key players. Dallas, which won its first playoff series last year, is two games out of the final postseason spot with eight remaining.
The Fever are 6-1 since the Olympic break, with three of those victories coming on foreign soil. The reward is six straight home games, beginning Wednesday against the last-place Los Angeles Sparks before the season finale in Washington.
“They laid it out there. We keep talking about pumping our tank,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “The confidence they’re playing with, I’m proud of the road games. The road games were tough. We keep talking about momentum, keeping our foot on the gas.”
After making her eighth 3-pointer in the third quarter, Ogunbowale was called for a foul for failing to give Kelsey Mitchell a landing zone on a 3-pointer.
The Wings challenged and lost, leading to a technical foul on Ogunbowale. The Fever scored five points on that possession, cutting their deficit to 67-64 after Dallas had taken a big lead less than two minutes earlier, 64-55.
Mitchell made two more free throws after her crucial 3-pointer, giving the Fever eight straight points to take a 99-91 lead with 39 seconds left.
Satou Sabally scored 25 points and Natasha Howard had 18 points and nine assists for the Wings. NaLyssa Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.