Fever Stars Clark and Mitchell Look to Elevate MVP Credentials Against Sun

As the regular season draws to a close, Indiana Fever stars Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell are positioning themselves as strong contenders for the Most Valuable Player award, challenging Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson.

Both athletes are expected to take significant strides toward that goal on Friday night when the Fever host the Connecticut Sun, aiming to solidify their playoff positioning.

Clark showcased her elite form with a 37-point, 10-assist double-double in Sunday’s 113-90 victory over the Chicago Sky, boosting her season averages to 22.1 points and 8.3 assists per game. Mitchell contributed 30 points to the effort, pushing her scoring average to 24.8 ppg and marking the most efficient campaign of her nine-year career.

Teammate Lexie Hull firmly believes both deserve the recognition.

“I think any of them deserve it for sure. It just shows the success of our team,” Hull stated. “They’ll do whatever we need for our team to win, and it’s showing up on the stat sheet for sure.”

Demonstrating their offensive prowess, the Fever (25-14) currently lead the league in scoring (96.6 ppg), field goal percentage (48.9%), and three-point percentage (39.5%). The team has surpassed the 100-point mark in 18 games, including three of their last four outings.

It would not be surprising if Indiana extends its dominance to four victories in five meetings against Connecticut (10-28), who are recovering from an 89-64 home defeat to Golden State on Wednesday night. The Sun trailed 55-27 at halftime and were down by as many as 35 points in the final quarter.

A rare bright spot for Connecticut came from Charlisse Leger-Walker, who assumed point guard duties after Leila Lacan departed to join France’s national team ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Leger-Walker recorded a career-high 17 points and four assists.

“Offensively, she’s taking more responsibility,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane noted. “That’s something we are expecting from her, to shoot the ball more and to be more aggressive and sometimes to be a little more selfish instead of just organizing.”

The Fever have already secured both matchups against Connecticut this year, highlighted by a 123-88 demolition on July 22 in Indianapolis. In that game, Clark (27), Mitchell (23), and Aliyah Boston (22) combined for 72 points.

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