With Caitlin Clark still out, the Indiana Fever signed forward Chloe Bibby to a seven-day hardship contract. The 27-year-old rookie previously made her WNBA debut with the Golden State Valkyries, signing a hardship contract with the team when several players left for Eurobasket. She played five games and was solid, but the Valkyries waived her when starting center Temi Fagbenle returned from her stint with the British national team.
Now, Bibby has another chance to impress in the WNBA. She already has a clear idea of how she can impact the team.
When asked about her first impressions of the Fever and how she could fit in, Bibby said, “I like that fast style, so I think that suits me a lot. Fast pace, shoot the 3-ball, and I think that’s exactly what I do.”
Chloe Bibby looked good in her Fever debut
Bibby got a chance to play meaningful minutes right away. She played 11 minutes against the Sky, recording eight points on 2-5 shooting from the field, two rebounds, and one block. Both field goals she made were threes.
The Fever’s newest addition was the fourth player off the bench. First, Makayla Timpson was subbed in for Natasha Howard halfway through the fourth quarter. About two minutes later, Sydney Colson and Lexie Hull replaced Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham on the court. Bibby was the next sub, coming in for Aliyah Boston to close the first quarter and start the second. She hit a three on her very first offensive possession.
Bibby adds a new dimension to the Fever’s frontcourt
The Fever’s frontcourt of Aliyah Boston, Brianna Turner, Makayla Timpson, and Damaris Dantas offers a good mixture of size, athleticism, youth, and veteran experience.
It does not offer much 3-point shooting, though. Timpson and Turner haven’t attempted a three all season long. Boston is averaging 0.8 attempts per game on 23.8 percent shooting. Dantas’s average is much higher at 2.5 shots per game, but she is only converting 26.5 percent of her attempts from long range.
Bibby is a much better and much more willing 3-point shooter. Over her first six WNBA games, she attempted an average of 5.3 threes per game and made 40.6 percent of them. She isn’t just a willing 3-point shooter but also an accurate one.
The Fever need someone like that with Clark out. Indiana ranks eighth in 3-point attempts and sixth in 3-point percentage for the season. Clark is by far the team’s most willing shooter and has a gravitational pull on defenses, even if she hasn’t made a lot of shots yet this season. With her either sidelined or struggling from long range, the Fever only have three players shooting over 38 percent from three.