Aliyah Boston Had Clear Thoughts on Newest Indiana Fever Teammate

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 12:53 AM ET

Even though Caitlin Clark continues to miss games due to injury, the Indiana Fever continue to find ways to win games without her.

On Thursday, they got their record over .500 with an 81-54 win over the Las Vegas Aces. They held the Aces to 26.2% shooting from the field while forcing 19 turnovers, and they got 20 points from Aliyah Boston and 25 points from Kelsey Mitchell.

Aari McDonald, a guard Indiana recently signed to bolster its depth amidst the injury problems it has had, made a contribution as well. She chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes, and Boston praised her afterward.

“We told her after the game, we said.. ‘we’re just thankful for you’. Her impact, you see it, even just looking at the plus minus, +26—i just think she’s been the perfect missing piece for us.”

aliyah on aari’s impact:

“we told her after the game, we said.. ‘we’re just thankful for you’. her impact, you see it, even just looking at the plus minus, +26—i just think she’s been the perfect missing piece for us.” pic.twitter.com/XAQ1XoruTq
— delusional cc akgae (@clrkszn) July 4, 2025

This was just McDonald's sixth appearance in a game since first coming to Indiana about a month ago. She was signed on June 2, released on June 13 and then brought back last week.

Prior to Thursday, she had scored in double figures in four straight games, and she tallied six assists against just one turnover in a win versus the Dallas Wings last Friday.

McDonald was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream. She finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting that season, but she hasn't lived up to her potential after three stellar seasons at Arizona.

While at Arizona, she averaged over 20 points a game in each of her three years there, and she was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2021, as well as the winner of the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 and 2021.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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