Fever Sweep of Sky Essentially Locks Up Indiana's WNBA Playoff Spot

That's due to the other results in WNBA action that took place on the same night. The Los Angeles Sparks fell to the Atlanta Dream 104-85, thus dropping LA 2.5 games behind the Fever with each only have three and two games left respectively. Meanwhile, the Seattle Storm were knocked off by the New York Liberty 84-66—moving the Fever back up to 7th with the tiebreaker over the Storm.

This brings Indiana's magic number (combination of Fever wins or losses by closest competitors) for a playoff spot to just 1, with a win on Sunday against the Washington Mystics clinching at least their current seeding.

Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull Shine in Win Over Sky

Obviously the ceiling on the Fever's postseason outlook would be higher had Caitlin Clark not been ruled out for the remainder of the year. But in Clark's absence the rest of the team's core has shined.

Aliyah Boston has been a steady presence both inside and as a playmaker, while Kelsey Mitchell has been brilliant in pacing the team offensively. Then there is Lexie Hull, who brings a grit and tenacity serving as a glue player for the team.

The latter two really shined against the Sky. Mitchell dropped 20 points on an efficient 6-13 shooting vs Chicago in continuing to make her hard to refute All-WNBA First Team case. And Hull looks to be first team all-grit after adding a bloody lip to her double black eyes in another night of energizing action.

All in all, the Fever have pushed through adversity to put themselves in strong playoff position, with a place in the postseason now all but guaranteed.

And while the season hasn't gone as the team would have hoped for a myriad of reasons, one thing is for sure—Indiana is not going to give up no matter who is on the floor.