Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell did not return for the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's 101-95 win against the Toronto, as she was experiencing overheating, according to coach Stephanie White. Mitchell, the WNBA's second-leading scorer, had contributed eight points in under a minute late in the third quarter to reach 29 points for the game before leaving the court.
The game was played in the hot conditions of Scotiabank Arena. "This is two games in a row where we played in really, really hot environments," White said. "All indications are right now that she was just overheated." Mitchell had also played 36 minutes in Sunday's overtime victory against Atlanta.
Last October, Mitchell was hospitalized for fluids after experiencing leg cramps during the third quarter of a playoff game against Las Vegas. White stated she was unaware of any connection between Tuesday's incident and the previous one.
Mitchell scored 16 points in the first quarter against Toronto and reached at least 20 points for the 20th consecutive game, tying A'ja Wilson's streak for the longest in WNBA history. "She just can get a shot at any time," White commented on Mitchell's offensive abilities. "She gets a shot for herself, her gravity creates shots for everybody else. It´s nice to know that you can give her the ball and let her go to work. There aren´t a lot of players that can just create the kinds of shots that she does."
Mitchell finished the game shooting 11 for 16 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and was perfect at the free-throw line. She entered the game averaging a career-high 24.2 points per game, with Wilson leading the league at 26.1 points.
Caitlin Clark scored 24 points in the same game, marking her first professional game in Canada. The Fever's win extended their streak to five consecutive victories and 10 wins in their last 12 games. Clark and Mitchell have now scored 20 or more points in the same game 16 times this season, setting a new WNBA record.