Indiana Fever Trending Toward Historically Poor Defensive Distinction

The Indiana Fever are conceding 100-point games at a historic rate this season.

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) plays defense during a game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Sparks scored 106 points against the Indiana Fever on July 8, which resulted in a Fever loss. This marks the eighth game the Fever have conceded 100 points or more during the 2026 WNBA season, according to an X post from Underdog.

The Dallas Wings had nine 100-point games against them during the 2024 WNBA season, which set the league record. Therefore, the Fever (who have 23 games remaining in the regular season) are just one game away from tying that record and two games away from surpassing it, with more than half of the season remaining.

Most games with 100+ PTS allowed in a season in WNBA history:

2024 Wings - 9
2026 Fever - 8
2010 Shock - 8

Indiana still has 23 games remaining this season. pic.twitter.com/rKTXsuGjof

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 9, 2026

This is obviously not a good defensive distinction to have. However, what's interesting about it is that Indiana isn't even among the league's worst defensive teams. Opponents are averaging 89.7 points per game against them, which is fourth-worst in the league.

That obviously isn't good, but it shows that the Fever are somewhat feast-or-famine on the defensive end. They either have a defensive implosion in the form of their opponent hitting the century mark with points or manage to lock in and keep their opponent contained defensively, usually amounting to a win.

Indiana has a 1-7 record in games where their opponent has scored at least 100 points, with their lone victory being an 114-106 overtime win against the Chicago Sky on June 11. This shows how detrimental these game-long defensive lapses have been for the Fever, who have a 12-9 record after their July 8 loss against the Sparks.

Kelsey Mitchell Comments About 'Ugly' Fever Defensive Outing After Loss to Los Angeles

When Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was asked about a potential "disjointedness" among the Fever against the Sparks on Wednesday, she said, "We kind of shot ourselves in the foot because we couldn't find a decent flow offensively, but I think that's a testament to how bad our defense was," per a video from the Fever's YouTube account.

Later in on her answer, Mitchell added, "I think defensively, you've got to kind of be yourself; you've got to kind of want to pour in, and be what you're supposed to be, and let the offense take it from there. But I think defensively, it was kind of just ugly."

Mitchell raises a strong point in that the poor defensive showings can have a trickle-down effect on the other end, as it is hard to get out and run like the Fever prefer when you are taking the ball out of the basket.

The good news for Indiana is that they've got a chance for a quick turnaround in their July 9 game against the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix has only scored 100 or more points twice this season so far, although one of these was the last time they faced the Fever.