Kristy Wallace sank her career-high sixth 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to help the host Indiana Fever rally to an 83-80 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Wallace finished with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the floor and 6 of 8 from 3-point range for the Fever (11-24), who overcame a 10-point deficit with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 14 points, Grace Berger added 12 off the bench and NaLyssa Smith collected eight points and 13 rebounds to pace Indiana to its season-high third straight win. Fever rookie Aliyah Boston recorded nine points, nine rebounds and four steals before exiting in the third quarter with a right thumb injury.
Cheyenne Parker had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Rhyne Howard added 17 points for the Dream (16-19), who have dropped six of their last seven games.
Howard sank a 19-foot jumper to stake Atlanta to a 76-66 advantage with 2:43 remaining before Indiana put together a 13-2 run to take the lead. Wallace, who played with the Dream last season, drained consecutive 3-pointers to cap that surge with 23.1 seconds remaining.
Aari McDonald made a layup to regain the lead for Atlanta, however Wallace sank a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give Indiana an 82-80 lead. The Dream turned the ball over on their next possession, Mitchell added a free throw and Smith corralled an offensive rebound to seal the win.
Atlanta trimmed a 16-point deficit down to 10 after Howard made a pair of free throws and an off-balance 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Dream kept up the intensity in the third quarter, outscoring the Fever by a 21-7 margin to seize a 58-54 lead. The seven points represented Indiana’s lowest-scoring quarter of the season.
Parker drained a 19-foot jumper to trim Indiana’s lead to 23-20 before the Fever took control by scoring 15 of the game’s next 17 points. Wallace, Berger and Amanda Zahui B. each made a 3-pointer to highlight that sequence.
–Field Level Media