Fouls, turnovers plague Indiana Fever in loss to Washington Mystics

INDIANAPOLIS — The fully-healthy Washington Mystics proved to be too much for the Indiana Fever on Friday night. The Fever fell to the Mystics, 83-79, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Indiana was within two points of Washington, who had the ball, with eight seconds left in the game, but the Mystics managed to fend off the surging Fever with two free throw shots to take the victory.

"We never go out there thinking that we're going to lose," Emma Cannon said postgame. "We go out there and give it our all, so when it comes down to the wire like that, and it has come down to the wire many games this season, it's tough, because we're a great team at the end of the day."

With the loss, the Fever (8-24) and Mystics (15-16) officially split the 2023 season series, winning two games apiece.

Here are four observations from the Fever's loss:

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Fouls, turnovers plague Fever in loss

Second-year guard NaLyssa Smith, who returned to the starting lineup on Friday after missing nine games with a foot injury, wasn't on a minutes restriction. But she was restricted by multiple fouls in short succession, as she picked up three fouls in less than a minute in the second quarter. She was on and off the court for the rest of the night and picked up her fifth foul with five minutes left in the game, limiting her time on the court to just 19 minutes.

"I didn't agree with a lot of, some of the fouls that happened today, but that's the game," head coach Christie Sides said. "There's absolutely nothing we can do about it. I said to my players, 'We cannot spend our energy on the officials. We just can't do it. Let me handle it.'' They can't, it's not going to change. They've just got to keep playing and have a next play mentality."

The Mystics also worked to draw fouls from the Fever, going to the line 25 times (with 19 makes) compared to the Fever's 10 times (nine makes).

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Turnovers also plagued Smith on Friday night, as she turned the ball over five times compared to four points on 2-of-6 shooting. Smith wasn't the only player with the turnover bug, however, as the Fever had multiple bad passes or fumbled catches on Friday, leading to 17 turnovers and 14 points for the Mystics.

"We had three turnovers in the last two minutes of the game, and that's when you don't give yourself a chance," Sides said. "We gave up 14 points off our turnovers, and it's something that we continuously talk about, 'Take care of the basketball.'"

Lexie Hull leaves game with injury

Second-year guard Lexie Hull sustained a right shoulder injury after falling hard to the ground during the game and was declared out during the fourth quarter.

Hull, who came off the bench for 13 minutes on Friday, has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds. She has already missed games with an injury this season, sitting out two games with a broken nose in July, and is wearing a face mask for the rest of the season.

"She was in the locker room at the end of the game," Sides said. "So I will leave here and figure out what's going on with Lexie."

The Fever have a quick turnaround for their next game: they head to Phoenix on Saturday to play the Mercury on Sunday afternoon.

Aliyah Boston sets new Fever rookie record

Former Fever legend Tamika Catchings set a record of 184 field goals made in 2002, and that record sat untouched by Fever rookies for more than 20 years.

On Friday night, Fever rookie and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston set a new record. With her first make of the night on Friday against the Mystics, Boston eclipsed 185 made field goals in her rookie season.

"She's just special," Sides said. "She's gonna break a lot of records here, but she's just a special player. And when you have people like her, you put people around her to help her do what she can do, then people can lighten the load for her as well."

Boston finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night, bringing her closer to two other rookie feats. Boston has 264 rebounds and 476 points in her rookie season, coming up on Catchings’ 594-point record and Teaira McCowan's 306-rebound record.

McCowan set both the Fever's rookie rebound and block record in 2019, blocking 44 shots. With eight games left in the season, Boston, who has 41 blocks, has a good chance of taking over both of those records.

Erica Wheeler hits career milestone

Fever guard Erica Wheeler became just the second undrafted player in WNBA history to record 1,000 career assists on Friday night, joining now-Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon in the exclusive category.

Wheeler dished out her 1,000th assist on her second of the night, and she finished the game with three assists and 12 points.

The career milestone comes one day after the 32-year-old signed an offseason time-off bonus amendment to her two-year contract with the Fever. The contract stipulates that Wheeler cannot be overseas for more than 90 total days in the offseason, essentially barring her from playing for an international team in the winter.

"She's at the age now where I think she needs some rest," Sides said on Thursday. "For her to extend to her career for the next few years, which we want her to be here with us, she needs to rest in the offseason, and that's hard for her, because she's a competitor and loves to go over there and make money, but I think she's now understanding that this is what she needs to do to further her career."

According to Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats, Wheeler’s bonus was $40,000, bringing her total compensation for the 2023 season up to over $242,000.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WNBA: Turnovers plague Indiana Fever in loss to Washington Mystics