No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith sprains ankle in Fever's loss to No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard, Dream
INDIANAPOLIS — Rhyne Howard and NaLyssa Smith — the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively, in the 2022 WNBA Draft — were going toe-to-toe Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Howard scored 17 points in the first quarter for the Atlanta Dream, the most ever by a WNBA rookie in the opening frame, and Smith came alive in the third quarter with 11 points for the Indiana Fever. However, their first matchup was cut short.
With 6:29 remaining in the game, Smith sprained her right ankle while running back on defense and was helped off the floor. The 6-4 forward did not return as Howard carried the Dream to an 85-79 victory.
"It's swollen," Fever coach Marianne Stanley said of Smith's ankle." But I don't know how serious it is right now."
Indiana hosts Atlanta again Tuesday night.
Smith totaled 18 points and six rebounds before exiting the game, while Howard finished with a career-high 33 points on 9-for-18 shooting. Howard and Smith each drained three 3s.
"I applaud her for everything she's done," Howard said of Smith before the game. "I'm very proud of her. Just to see her out here excelling in her dream is just great, and I love that for her. But going against her, it's all business on the court, but afterwards it's all love."
The Dream built a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but the Fever rallied to cut the lead to one on a Kelsey Mitchell 3 with 2:10 left in the game. That was as close as Indiana would come.
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Mitchell was fouled on a 3-pointer with 47.2 seconds remaining and drained all three free throws to make it a two-point game after Atlanta rebuilt its lead. On the next possession, Atlanta's Kristy Wallace missed a 3, but Howard grabbed the offensive rebound. She was fouled by Indiana rookie Queen Egbo and sank two free throws to help seal the game and cap off a remarkable performance. The former Kentucky star had a sea of Wildcats fans on hand to watch her put on a show.
"We came all the way from Kentucky for this one!" a fan shouted early in the game, and Howard gave her plenty to cheer for by scoring the Dream's first 11 points.
"Elite guards like her, once you see one (shot) go in, the hula hoop gets bigger and bigger and bigger," Mitchell said. "So you have to be mindful of personnel, her tendencies, what she brings to the table for her team and be on that early instead of waiting until the third or fourth quarter to kind of be on it."
Mitchell paced the Fever with 27 points for her third straight 20-point game. Danielle Robinson added eight points and four assists. Rookie Lexie Hull scored her first WNBA points on a corner 3 in the fourth quarter, which Stanley hopes can "relax" the former Stanford star.
More: 'A complete change': Indiana Fever's Alaina Coates prioritizes mental health in WNBA return
Former No. 2 pick Alaina Coates, who took the 2021 WNBA season off to focus on her mental health, made her Fever debut after missing the first three games of the season while playing in Turkey and an additional game while getting acclimated to the team. The 6-4 center totaled two points, two rebounds and one steal in eight minutes.
"I just wanted to be able to come off and be a spark off the bench," Coates said. " ... Just show my teammates like, 'This is what I'm gonna do for y'all for the season.' Yeah, I had a couple mishaps, but I'm literally just getting back. The more that I gel and mesh with the team and the more I play with the Fever, the more I'm gonna get right."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever: No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith suffers ankle injury in loss
