Caitlin Clark Calls Kelsey Mitchell WNBA's 'Best Scorer' as Historic Run Continues

Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points Tuesday night in the Indiana Fever's 106-92 win over the New York Liberty. Twenty came before halftime.

Mitchell shot 11-of-16 from the floor and hit 4 3-pointers. It was her 17th consecutive game scoring 20 points or more, extending the longest single-season streak in WNBA history.

Caitlin Clark views Mitchell as the best scorer in the WNBA.

"She just doesn't miss. It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "She's the best scorer in the league, hands down. It's not even close.

"She just makes the game of basketball really pretty and really pure, and it's fun to be in the backcourt with her," Clark continued. "Like, I just swing the rock and it's like an automatic assist. And it's fun just getting to watch her do her thing."

A'ja Wilson holds the overall WNBA record with 20 consecutive 20-point games.

Mitchell has also scored in double figures in 48 straight games, the 10th-longest streak in league history. She reached 25 points for the 18th time this season. Only three players have posted a higher single-season total.

Clark finished with 22 points and 10 assists Tuesday. She has now assisted on 62 Mitchell baskets, with only six players in league history setting up one teammate more often.

Mitchell was already an established scorer when Clark arrived in Indiana. The Fever selected her second overall out of Ohio State in 2018, and she has spent all nine of her WNBA seasons with the franchise. Since Clark's arrival, the two star guards have built a clear chemistry as the league's most explosive backcourt.

Clark said Mitchell's current run means more after everything she has experienced in Indiana.

"And it's fun to see the joy and the passion that she has for the game," Clark said. "Like, she truly loves the game, she loves her teammates, she loves getting to compete and work every single day. She truly just puts her head down and goes. There's no extracurricular with her. It's basketball, and she's going to have her teammates' back.

"And it's just been fun to obviously watch her evolution from when I first got here," Clark continued. "And obviously a lot of these moments, they're for her. They're special. She's been through the worst of times with this organization. So I'm just really happy she's playing her best basketball right now. And she just continues to top the last night and just keeps it moving forward. Which, really just happy for her."

Mitchell picked off a pass in the second quarter for career steal No. 252. That moved her past Katie Douglas into fourth place on Indiana's all-time list.

Fever coach Stephanie White has watched Mitchell since her college career and said the same work habits have stayed with her.

"I'm proud of her, but I'm not surprised. She loves to hoop, man," White said. "She loves to play. And I know I say this often, but I've been watching Kelsey Mitchell for a long time. And the way that she worked when she was a freshman in college is the way that she works pregame or post, or pre-practice or post-practice, every day now.

"She wants to perfect her craft," White continued. "We all know that chasing perfection, you probably never attain. But she keeps trying, man. And she is an incredible athlete, one of the best go-to scorers in this league's history."

Indiana had three players make 4 3-pointers against New York. Clark was one of them, and Sophie Cunningham scored 12 points while making 4 of her own. Aliyah Boston had 19 points and 7 rebounds.

The Fever went 16-of-25 from 3-point range and scored at least 100 points for the 15th time this season, more than any other team. Indiana made 11 3-pointers before halftime, one shy of its franchise record for a half.

Indiana is 21-12 after winning seven of its past nine games. The 21 victories are tied for the third-most in a season in franchise history.