Fever can't keep up with Seattle on either end of the court, drop fifth straight game

Throughout an ugly stretch in a forgettable season, one of the few sources of stability for the Fever has been Kelsey Mitchell. The fifth-year guard entered Friday’s game against the Storm averaging 19.2 points per game, attempting to keep Indiana afloat during a two-week stretch of winless basketball.

On Friday,  not even she could help stem the tide of Seattle’s onslaught.

Mitchell scored 3 points, shooting 1-of-6 as the Fever never adjusted to Seattle’s swarming, storming defense in a 73-57 loss. Indiana hasn’t won since June 19.

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"Overall as a group, I thought that we were a little slow getting into our sets," Fever interim coach Carlos Knox said. "They made us catch it outside of our comfort zone. We weren't able to execute at the level that we wanted to until we caught up with the pace and the speed."

It wasn’t just Mitchell. Second overall pick NaLyssa Smith had 9 points on 3 of 9 shooting. Destanni Henderson missed five of her six attempts from beyond the arc. Queen Egbo was the only Fever player to shoot higher than 50%. The Fever collectively had trouble with Seattle’s pressure on defense, shooting 34.4% from the field and committing 17 turnovers. Six came in the first quarter. Eventually, those turnovers led to transition opportunities for the Storm. On consecutive possessions in the second quarter, errant passes created runouts for Seattle.

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"They did a great job on defense, and we just couldn't find a rhythm," Egbo said. "They made it hard for Kelsey. They made it hard for the people we needed to score to score."

Little was different in the half court. WNBA leading scorer Breanna Stewart poured in 20 points. Recent signing Tina Charles chipped in 9, and the Storm shot 42% from the field. Seattle never trailed after the first quarter, and a 17-2 run in the second stomped out any chance of a Fever upset. The lead stayed in double digits throughout the second half, even as the Fever tightened up in the fourth quarter and allowed 10 points.

With Victoria Vivians out with a shoulder injury, rookie Lexie Hull made her first career start. Two minutes into the game, she contested a Jewell Loyd 3-pointer and knocked down a runner on the other end. She finished with 4 points while playing her standard hustling defense.

"I thought it was decent," Knox said of Hull's performance. "Obviously it's a lot more demanding to be a starter in this league. You have to focus at a high level because you're coming out against other teams' starters, so I think she got a taste, which was good for her, and we're just going to continue to develop."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever finish winless road trip with ugly performance in Seattle