WNBA Game Report: Boston Grabs Rebounds & Clark Distributes Assists, Howard’s Efforts Go in Vain as Fever Defeats Dream

Game Report

On September 9th, in a regular-season WNBA game, the Fever defeated the Dream 104-100 in overtime, avoiding a losing streak.

In this match, both teams remained closely matched throughout the four quarters of regulation time. The Dream’s Howard was in scorching form, while the Fever relied on the performances of Clark and Boston to keep up with the Dream. After Howard made two free throws, Boston scored a crucial layup, bringing the score to 90-90 and sending the game into overtime. In the overtime period, Boston and Clark each scored six points, helping the Fever secure the win, especially with Clark’s consecutive drives to the basket resulting in four successful free throws, which became the key to the game.

For the entire game, four starters for the Fever scored in double digits. Apart from Smith, who only scored six points, Boston, Mitchell, and Clark all scored over 20 points, becoming the decisive figures in the game. Among them, Boston played 41 minutes and 23 seconds, shooting 11 of 16, making all eight free throws, scoring a team-high 30 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, dishing out five assists, recording one steal and one block, with two turnovers and fouls, and a plus-minus of +9. Meanwhile, Clark played 45 minutes, shooting 7 of 17, hitting four of his thirteen three-point attempts, and making all eight free throws, scoring 26 points, grabbing five rebounds, and providing twelve assists, but also committing nine turnovers and three fouls, with a plus-minus of +4.

In addition, Mitchell shot 8 of 16, hitting two of seven three-pointers and three of four free throws, scoring 21 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out one assist.

On the Dream’s side, although four players also scored in double digits, only Howard reached the 20-point mark, while Charles managed a double-double but with a mediocre shooting percentage. In this game, Howard played nearly 43 minutes, shooting 13 of 28, hitting four of thirteen three-point attempts, and making six of nine free throws, scoring a game-high 36 points, grabbing four rebounds, and providing five assists, with one steal, four turnovers, and one foul, and a plus-minus of -6.

Additionally, Charles shot 7 of 22, scoring 17 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and dishing out one assist. Gray shot 6 of 19, scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds, providing five assists, and making two steals, narrowly missing a buzzer-beater at the end of the fourth quarter. Canada shot 7 of 15, scoring 17 points, grabbing six rebounds, providing five assists, and making two steals.

Both teams’ starters performed well today, but the Fever, who had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Lynx in their previous game, managed to stop their slide by defeating the Dream. Notably, including this game, the Fever have won all five meetings against the Dream this season, proving to be a thorn in the Dream’s side.

Player Stats

Fever: Boston 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal; Clark 26 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists; Mitchell 21 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Hill 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Fagbenle 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Smith 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal; Wheeler 1 assist; Samuelson 2 rebounds; Dantas 2 rebounds;

Dream: Howard 36 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal; Canada 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals; Charles 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist; Gray 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals; Cole 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Sykes 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Caldwell 3 points; Koulibaly 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal; Jones 2 rebounds;

Starting Lineups

Dream Starters: Howard, Sykes, Charles, Gray, Canada

Fever Starters: Hill, Boston, Mitchell, Clark, Smith