the Indiana fever's five-game winning streak came to a halt on Friday as they faced the Minnesota links in a hard-fought 99 to 88 defeat at gainbridge fieldhouse in Indianapolis despite a valiant comeback attempt led by rookie sensation Caitlyn Clark the fever couldn't overcome a dominant third quarter Surge from the links Clark the standout guard delivered another impressive performance posting a team High 25 points on eight of 21 shooting from the field including five of 10 from Beyond The Arc she also added eight rebounds and eight assists coming close to her third triple double of the season however her allaround effort wasn't enough to carry the fever to Victory as they fell short in the final moments the game began with a slow start for Clark who missed her first three shots before finding her rhythm with a late Jumper in the first quarter from there she caught fire scoring 17 of her 25 points in the first half alone with Clark leading the charge the fever entered half time with a slim 50 to 45 Advantage outscoring the links in the first two quarters however despite their lead clarkk emphasized at halim that the team needed to improve defensively noting that conceding 45 points in the half was too many the links took that defensive advice to hard and came out strong in the third quarter completely Shifting the momentum Minnesota clamped down on defense and outscored Indiana 29 to2 in the third taking a commanding 12-point lead into the fourth quarter nefisa klier who had just returned from winning gold with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics spearheaded the links's charge with a game high 26 six points 10 rebounds two Steals and two blocks she was well supported by Bridget Carlton who added 16 points and Courtney Williams who contributed 15 despite the 12-point deficit the fever refused to back down fueled by a late three-pointer from Kelsey Mitchell Indiana fought their way back into the game cutting Minnesota's lead to just one point with 403 remaining Mitchell who finished with 23 points was a key factor in the fever's comeback bid along with Ali yaah Boston who contributed 20 points making the trio responsible for 68 of Indiana's 88 points however the links regrouped in the final minutes closing the game on an 18 to8 run to secure the win and snap Indiana's win streak Collier credited her team's defensive resilience for withstanding the fever's multiple runs saying the fever a really strong offensive team and we know that so really playing our team defense and locking down that way 50 is a lot for them to have it half just locking in on that and stopping their key players was key for us the lock marks the fever's first since August 24th but despite the defeat Indiana had already clinched their first playoff birth since 2016 earlier in the week making this season a significant step forward for the team with the playoffs approaching Clark Mitchell and Boston will look to continue their strong play and make an impact as Indiana heads into the postseason for the links this Victory serves as a confidence booster as they push toward their own playoff goals with ker continuing to lead the way for her team following her triumphant return from the Olympics