Indiana Fever Force Game Three in First Round with 77-60 Victory over Atlanta Dream
WNBA Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever Force Game Three in First Round with 77-60 Victory over Atlanta Dream

Published on September 16, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 16, 2025) - The Indiana Fever kept their postseason hopes alive with a 77-60 victory over the Atlanta Dream, forcing a Game Three in the First Round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs. The two teams will now return to the Gateway Arena at College Park for a winner-take-all game on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET, broadcast on ESPN2.

Indiana jumped out to a first-quarter lead backed by eight points from Kelsey Mitchell, playing in her first home playoff game of her eight-year Fever career, with the defense holding Atlanta to 14 points for the six-point advantage in favor of the Fever. Six points from Natasha Howard in the second quarter helped the Fever maintain their lead, ahead 35-29 heading into the halftime break.

The Fever extended their lead to 15 points when Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull combined for five points in the final six seconds of the third quarter. Indiana closed out the victory in the fourth quarter with rookie Makayla Timpson scoring seven points and Odyssey Sims adding five to secure the 17-point win.

Indiana Fever Notes:

The win marked the Fever's first victory in the postseason since October 11, 2015, during the 2015 WNBA Finals series against the Minnesota Lynx, which was also the last time Indiana won a playoff game at home.

The 17-point victory is tied for the fourth-largest margin of victory in Fever playoff history and the largest margin of victory since Sept. 22, 2013, when Indiana beat the Connecticut Sun by 22 points.

For just the fourth time in Fever playoff history, the team was perfect from the free throw line, scoring all 15 of their attempts.

Indiana's defense held Atlanta to 15 or less points in three of the four quarters, just the second team to do so this season. The only quarter Atlanta scored more than 15 points was the fourth quarter, during which they only scored 16 points.

Kelsey Mitchell recorded her fourth-consecutive double-digit scoring game in the postseason, dating back to the two games from the 2024 playoffs, hitting double-digits in each of her postseason appearances.

Makayla Timpson had a perfect night, shooting 3-3 on field goals, while making all three of her free throw attempts, finishing the night with nine points and three rebounds.

Up Next: The Indiana Fever head back to the Gateway Arena at College Park for a winner-take-all game against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET, broadcast on ESPN2.

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