INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever lost its regular-season home-opener in front of a sellout crowd of 17,274 on Thursday night as Liberty forward Breanna Stewart’s team-high 31 points propelled New York to a 102-66 win against Indiana.
Fever (0-2) center Aliyah Boston and forward Katie Lou Samuelson led Indiana in scoring against the Liberty on Thursday night with 12 and 10 points respectively. Samuelson scored eight of her 10 points in the first quarter and went 3-of-3 on field goals and made both of her three-pointers in the opening quarter.
In her Gainbridge Fieldhouse regular season debut, Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark went 2-of-8 shooting and went 1-of-7 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points. Clark went 4-of-4 from the free throw line and finished with a team-high six assists to go along with seven rebounds.
After trailing by as much as 23 in the third quarter, Indiana closed the gap to finish the frame on a 12-0 run and shrink the deficit to 11 going into the fourth. New York opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run of its own and eventually solidified its second consecutive win to start the 2024 regular season.
Liberty guards Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Sabrina Ionescu and forward Jonquel Jones followed behind Stewart ending the night scoring in double figures. Jones and Stewart both recorded double-doubles with Jones finishing the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Stewart pulled down 10 rebounds as well. Ionescu tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
New York outscored Indiana in paint points, 48-28, and shot 22-of-23 from the free throw line while Indiana shot 17-of-22. Follow the Indiana Fever all season long brought to you by HNI Corporation and Quad City Photobooth.
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