Kelsey Mitchell on Indiana Fever WNBA Playoffs run: ‘Trying to be who I am’
Kelsey Mitchell scored a playoff career-high 34 points as the Indiana Fever won Game 1 of the second round of the WNBA playoffs against the Las Vegas Aces.
Lexie Hull was a late addition to the Fever’s injury report Tuesday night, but was the team’s top 3-point shooter.Hull matched a Fever playoff record for made 3-pointers, despite battling the injury.Game 3: Aces at Fever, 7:30 p.m. Friday
LAS VEGAS — Lexie Hull was just pushing through Tuesday night.
The starting Fever guard was a late addition to the injury report, designating her as questionable for Indiana’s game against Las Vegas just 2⅟₂ hours away.
She suffered a back injury pregame, Fever coach Stephanie White said, in the first of multiple times she crashed to the floor in what has become a physical series between the Fever and the Aces. Originally, she played through it, scoring six points in 35 minutes in the 89-73 Sunday win.
As she wore down from the game overnight, though, the injury flared up.
“Her initial injury happened the very first time she got run over (on Sunday), which was in the first quarter,” White said. “And she took a lot of hits. She took four or five, you know, pretty solid hits in the ball game. And so it just continued to get reaggravated, and overnight was not kind to her.”
Hull spent a lot of time Monday and Tuesday working with the Fever’s training staff, getting treatment between the two games in Las Vegas. She was wearing a heating device, which aims to keep the muscles warm, around her back during the Fever’s shootaround Tuesday morning.
She did her usual shooting and stretching pregame, albeit a little stiff and with a few extra stretches for her back. But that didn’t stop her when it came to game time.
She was her usual self after the ball tipped, jumping under the basket for rebounds and fighting for loose balls. She crashed to the ground a few times and grimaced when it happened, but every time she got back up and ran down the court.
“It feels like a physical game every game,” Hull said following Indiana’s 90-68 loss to Las Vegas on Tuesday. “It feels like it’s been a physical season. But yes, I feel like I’ve been on the ground a little bit more this series so far. We just keep getting back up. So that’s all I can really say.”
Hull was the Fever’s only hope beyond the arc. She drained five 3-pointers, which ties a Fever playoff record, while the rest of the team combined for a 2-of-9 mark from range. Her 15 points trailed only Odyssey Sims‘ 18 on the night.
She did all of that while working through a back injury, doing as much as she could to preserve the Fever’s starting lineup and depth.
“I’m feeling sore still, but I think just a lot of treatment, trying to get your bodies as ready as we can be,” Hull said. “Part of playoffs, I think, for everyone, it’s the end of the season, everyone’s a little fatigued, everyone’s a little sore, so just trying to go out there and do the best I can. I had a lot of treatment with our trainers. I’m really thankful for them for spending a lot of time with me today, a lot of time with me yesterday, getting me ready for tonight.”
Indiana has been working with 10 available players throughout its playoff run. The Fever submitted 11 on their playoff roster originally, which omitted the five with season-ending injuries: Chloe Bibby (left knee), Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left ACL), Sophie Cunningham (right MCL), and Aari McDonald (right foot). None of those players are eligible to return for the rest of the postseason.
The Fever have also been missing Damiris Dantas for the past five games, as she suffered a concussion Sept. 11 and has not yet progressed through the protocol. Dantas, who is on the playoff roster and will be eligible to return once she recovers, did not travel with the team to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas evened the series at 1-1 with Tuesday’s win, and the two teams will now shift to Indianapolis for two more games at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. If a fifth game is required, the series will head back to Las Vegas for the decisive contest.
For now, the Fever have an off day Wednesday after they return from Las Vegas. A much-needed one, at that.
“It’ll be a good rest day tomorrow, but I think that’s (the case) for everyone,” Hull said. “We’re just pushing through.”
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. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube channel and join Fever Insiders Live postgame.