Late on Sunday afternoon, the Indiana Fever ran away from the Seattle Storm in the fourth quarter with a near perfect 10 minutes of basketball. They put up 33 points on 12-of-15 from the field, including 8-of-10 from downtown, assisted on 10 of those baskets and held the Storm to 17 points on the other end.
Caitlin Clark received most of the headlines from the Fever’s win, and for good reason after she broke Ticha Penicheiro’s rookie assist record, which had stood since 1998, the league’s second year of existence.
The bigger takeaway, though, from another impressive win by the Fever, and specifically that fourth quarter, is that this team suddenly looks like a potential threat come playoff time. They’re now 5-0 in their last five games against teams with winning records, and are 11-6 overall since their brutal 2-9 start. Over that time period, only the Liberty, Lynx and Aces have a better record, and only the Liberty have a better offense.
The Fever are three games up on the ninth-place Atlanta Dream, and are likely going to end the longest active playoff drought in the league, which dates back to 2016. With their offense clicking like this under Clark’s direction, they are going to be a tough out in a three-game series, especially given the WNBA’s unique 2-1 format.
In the first round, the higher seed gets Games 1 and 2 at home, which gives them a chance to advance without playing a road game. However, if the lower seed can just steal one of the first two games, they then get the deciding Game 3 at home. A win-or-go-home game in Indiana against Clark and that raucous crowd would be a scary proposition for any contender.
WNBA Power Rankings
1
Liberty
The Liberty picked up where they left off before the break and have now become the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot. They’ve won three games this season by at least 35 points, which is the most by a single team in league history, and have now comfortably beaten the Aces twice on the road. We’ll see what happens come playoff time, but the Liberty have been the clear best team thus far.
2
Lynx
Minnesota stumbled into the break without Napheesa Collier, but she’s back now and they look as good as ever. They were able to ease into the second half of their schedule with back-to-back games against the Mystics, winning both rather comfortably to run their winning streak to three and pull within half-game of the Sun in the race for the No. 2 seed.
3
Sun
In their first game with Marina Mabrey, the Sun poured in 109 points in a win over the Wings, which was tied for the second-most in franchise history. Then, they turned around and barely reached the 70-point mark in a loss to the Dream. Suffice to say, the new-look Sun are a work in progress, and they have the Lynx right on their heels in the race for second place.
4
Aces
A double-digit loss at home to the Liberty was not how the Aces hoped to resume their season, and they’re now 0-2 against the team they beat in the Finals last year. Their continued lack of depth, and the extra burden it’s forced A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young to carry this season, was especially apparent against the Liberty.
5
Fever
Here come the Fever. A second training camp during the Olympic break has done Caitlin Clark and Co. a world of good. They crushed the Mercury, then ran away from the Storm in the second half in their first two games back and have now won five in a row against opponents with a winning record. Clark also passed Ticha Penicheiro for the rookie assist record, which had stood since 1998.
6
Storm
Tough restart for the Storm, who blew a 14-point second-half lead to the Dream, then got embarrassed in the second half by the Fever. Given the amount of offensive talent they have, it’s concerning how hard it is for them to score at times. One key issue is they’re last in the league in 3-point % at 29.3. No team has shot under 30% from behind the arc for a season since the 2021 Fever.
7
Mercury
The Mercury got right back to business, as they resumed their season with three games in four nights against the two teams directly below them in the standings. On the one hand, two dominant wins over the Sky means they no longer have to worry about them. On the other, they definitely do have to look over their shoulder at the Fever after their third defeat of the season to Caitlin Clark and Co.
8
Dream
The Dream were one of the most disappointing teams in the first half of the season, but injuries had a big part to play in their poor performance. Now fully healthy, they look capable of chasing down the Sky for a playoff spot. Tina Charles hit a buzzer beater to stun the Storm, then they pulled off an even bigger upset against the Sun. All of a sudden they’re just 1.5 games back of the Sky.
9
Sky
Offense has been an issue for the Sky all season long, and it’s only going to be harder without Marina Mabrey. In their first three games back, the Sky had a 96.1 offensive rating, got blown out by the Mercury twice and had to pull off a dramatic comeback to beat the Sparks. In the second defeat to the Mercury, Angel Reese went for 19 points and 20 rebounds, and just missed out on her first 20-20 game.
10
Wings
At long last, the Wings are (mostly) healthy, but any hopes of a dramatic late playoff push were dealt a blow when they were crushed by the Sun in their return to action. And now they have to go play back-to-back road games against the Liberty. They’re 4.5 games back of the eighth and final playoff spot with 14 games to play, which is almost certainly going to be too big of a hole to climb out of.
11
Sparks
The Sparks had to play three games in four nights to restart their season, and two of them were against the Liberty and Aces, which is a tough draw. They’ve now lost four games in a row dating back to before the break, and, if they weren’t already, can start thinking about next season.
12
Mystics
Brittney Sykes and Shakira Austin finally returned from injury for the embattled Mystics, but even they weren’t enough to get the team back in the win column. Two consecutive defeats to the Lynx sent the Mystics back to last place. One positive note was Stefanie Dolson tied the WNBA record for most 3s made in a game without a miss when she went 6-of-6 on Sunday.
