It’s been nothing short of a breakthrough season for the Indiana Fever, as they’ve finally secured a playoff spot after an eight-year drought. But the real challenge lies ahead. The Fever will need to be at the top of their game in the first round, where they’ll face the Connecticut Sun—a team that handed them three losses during the regular season. To make things even tougher, the Sun will have home-court advantage for the first two games of the best-of-three series.

If the Indiana Fever are hoping to recapture the magic of their 2012 championship run, their key players will need to bring their A-game. Facing a tough Connecticut Sun squad, this won’t be a one-player show—success will require a full team effort to crack the No.1 defensive team of the season. Fortunately, the Fever have a secret weapon in Kelsey Mitchell, the top scorer in their last matchup against the Sun. The guard has proven she can rise to the occasion and it’s her numbers which speak louder than anything.

Kelsey Mitchell: The Indiana Fever’s scoring powerhouse against the Connecticut Sun

The Indiana Fever have struggled against the Connecticut Sun this season, dropping three of their four meetings. However, their one hard-fought victory came during their most recent showdown in Indianapolis in late August. Leading the charge in that win, was Ohio State alumna Kelsey Mitchell, who delivered an impressive 23-point performance, with eight field goals and sinking three free throws.

The Fever guard was on fire from deep in that game, hitting an impressive 57.1% of her three-point attempts by draining 4 of 7 shots from beyond the arc. While her playmaking didn’t quite match her scoring output as she grabbed just 4 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.

Nevertheless, Mitchell remains a critical piece in the Fever’s push for the semifinals, being the second-highest scorer for Indiana against the Suns with 57.

While the Fever have their ace shooter in Caitlin Clark, the 28-year-old has also made her mark from beyond the arc. She’s hit 7 of her 18 three-point attempts, giving her an impressive shooting percentage of 38.9 percent against Sun. Remarkably, that puts her ahead of even the sharpshooter rookie player’s figures against Connecticut.

Well, the Fever No.0  standout performances against the Sun extend well beyond this season; she has been the franchise’s top scorer against them for the past five years. In her rookie season with the Fever back in 2018, she played in all three matchups against the Sun, racking up 44 points—just shy of Victoria Vivians’ total.

Over the past seven seasons, Kelsey Mitchell has amassed an impressive 355 points, along with 56 assists and 40 rebounds against the Uncasville franchise. Among these standout performances, one night in 2019 stands out as particularly memorable, marking a historic moment in her career as a Fever player.

Kelsey Mitchell: How a rising star shattered a WNBA record against Connecticut Sun?

It’s impressive that the Ohio-born athlete has participated in every game against the Sun. She’s been a starter in 22 out of the 23 matchups with this season’s first-round opponent, only coming off the bench for their initial meeting this year. However, her second year in the league was quite a roller coaster in terms of performances against the Sun, but she certainly ended on a high note in their last encounter of the season.

In her first matchup against the Sun in 2019, Mitchell hit a tough low, scoring just 2 points in 21 minutes while missing all her three-point attempts. However, she made significant strides in their second encounter, bouncing back with 14 points. Despite the improvement, her shooting struggles continued, as she once again went 0 for 6 from beyond the arc. While many might have labeled her as vulnerable against the Sun, Mitchell was determined to shatter it.

Mitchell didn’t just break through; she made history—both for the Fever and the WNBA. In their final meeting with the Sun in September at Indianapolis, she absolutely dominated, scoring an incredible 38 points. She knocked down nine three-pointers out of 13 attempts.

This performance not only set the record for the most points scored in a single game for the Fever, but it also etched her name in WNBA history as she surpassed Diana Taurasi’s record of eight three-pointers in a game. The second-year guard had 30 points in the first half and broke the mark of eight, not just held by Taurasi, but by five different players. The Fever secured a commanding 104-76 victory, with Mitchell starting her dominant era as the standout performer against the Sun which continued for five years.

Her talent, combined with her strong chemistry with Caitlin Clark, could be the key to advancing to the semifinals. “It’ll be an experience from a standpoint; I’ve never been a part of it. So the spectacle, the fans—that’ll be new for me,” Mitchell shared. Hopefully, she will be fully fit to take the court on September 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena.