The Fever just haven’t been able to escape bad injury luck this season. Caitlin Clark has only played 13 games so far, and the Fever also lost backup guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to season-ending injuries. Things looked especially gloomy when Sophie Cunningham suffered a knee injury early in the Fever’s Sunday matchup against the Connecticut Sun. Down on the scoreboard and with another key player hurt, the Fever seemed destined to lose a third consecutive game.
Behind a heroic 38-point performance from Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever managed to storm back and force the game into overtime, though. They eventually secured a 99-93 win. Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 10 consecutive points in overtime, was undoubtedly the Fever’s hero. She put the team on her back and carried it over the finish line for a much-needed win.
However, Odyssey Sims’s contributions shouldn’t be overlooked. In just her third game with the Fever, Sims was the team’s second leading scorer and a big factor in the fourth-quarter comeback. Sims’s emergence as an impactful guard for her new team should help keep Fever fans’ hopes alive, even after Cunningham’s injury. Mitchell is not the only high-level guard who can play heavy minutes for the Fever, after all.
Odyssey Sims played a strong game
Sims’s Fever debut was a quiet showing. She dished out two assists in 13 minutes on the floor but missed all four of her shot attempts. Her second game was much better, as she recorded 11 points, two rebounds, and three assists in a four-point loss to the Washington Mystics. Against the Sun, Sims had to move to the starting lineup, filling the point-guard-shaped hole left by a string of devastating injuries.
Sims delivered. She played 42 big minutes and finished the game with 19 points, four rebounds, and a team-high seven assists. She scored eight of her nineteen points in the fourth quarter and dished out the assist that got Aliyah Boston a bucket to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Sims was also one of three Fever players to score in overtime. The Fever had 15 points in the final five minutes—ten from Mitchell, three from Lexie Hull, and two from Sims.
If she can continue to play at this level, the Fever may be able to stay afloat until Caitlin Clark returns or the end of the regular season. It won’t be easy, though. The Fever have one of the toughest remaining schedules. They still have to play the Minnesota Lynx three times, and the Storm, Sparks, Valkyries, and Mercury once each. All of those teams are either some of the strongest in the league or desperate to secure a playoff spot. So, the rest of the season will be an uphill climb, but knowing that Sims can step up and help fuel the Fever’s offense should give fans some hope that the team can stay in the playoff picture.