Last time Fever made playoffs, Caitlin Clark was a freshman … in high school

ATLANTA — On Monday night, Indiana accomplished a feat it hadn’t sniffed since Fever legend Tamika Catchings hung up her sneakers in 2016: It won more than 13 games in a single season.

Indiana’s 14 wins this season are the most since the Fever’s 2016 squad went 17-17. Only Fever guard Erica Wheeler was on the Fever that season, completing her first stint with the franchise. Other than that, it’s a completely different team — players, coaches and front office.

The last time the Fever won 14 or more games in a season, Fever rookie Caitlin Clark was a freshman in high school.

It’s been a long turnaround for the Fever since Catchings and coach Stephanie White left eight years ago. Now, it’s rebuilding into something sustainable.

“I think in our locker room, even when coaches talk about it, we focus from game-to-game,” said seventh-year pro Kelsey Mitchell, the longest-tenured Fever player. “But we’re not crazy, you know, playoffs is a big deal for all of us, and I think we try to stay focused on what’s right, and I think the main thing is game-by-game.”

The Fever, who held on to beat Atlanta 84-79 on Monday, is full of young players. Three of its five starters (Clark, Aliyah Boston and third-year NaLyssa Smith) are still on rookie contracts, while Katie Lou Samuelson is in her fifth year. Indiana’s first option off the bench, Lexie Hull, is a third-year player, too.

Not many of the players on the Fever have playoff experience — only Damiris Dantas and Temi Fagbenle have gone deep into the postseason push, winning championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017, respectively (both came off the bench).

“We all feel like we can continue to get better in a lot of ways,” Clark said. “This team is young, has a lot of young talent, and I feel like we’re just starting to put it together a little bit. So, hopefully that continues to come along.”

Based on past seasons, the Fever will likely need to win at least 17 games to have a good shot at the playoffs. A minimum record of 17-23 would put the Fever at a .425 winning percentage in the regular season, and the averaged record of the league’s playoff No. 8 seeds from 2017-23 was .428.

Plus, the Fever now have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dream (Indiana is 3-0 vs. Atlanta), and it’s looking more and more likely Indiana will finally break its streak of missing the playoffs. A win against the Sky next Sunday would give Indiana the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago as well.

Three teams — New York, Connecticut and Minnesota — have already clinched playoff berths. Seattle is close to officially making the playoffs, as well as Phoenix. Right now, ESPN gives Indiana a 94.4% chance of making the playoffs. The next highest is Chicago, which ESPN predicts has a 56.2% chance. Chicago and Atlanta, which has a 47.5% chance, will likely battle for the final playoff spot.

And it will likely take a lot of worry out of Indiana’s camp if it can ensure it has the head-to-head advantage over both of those teams.

There are a bevy of winnable games left for the Fever, including its final game against the Dream, at home Sept. 8. The Fever also play the three teams who are all but out of the playoffs, including Los Angeles, Washington and Dallas (twice).

Those are five games the Fever will likely be favored to win, and that could put them in great standing for the playoff picture. But that’s easier said than done.

The Fever led by as many as 18 points against the Dream in the second half Monday but allowed it back within two points. The Dream trailed by just three with 30 seconds left and did all it could to force overtime — including grabbing two offensive rebounds on the same possession before the Fever could regain control of the ball.

Winning the game itself was a big step for the Fever — earlier in the season, there were times when it crumbled in those situations, taking the loss without a fight. Indiana is still a young team, still learning how to control those situations. To be truly successful, though, the Fever needs to make sure those big end-of-game runs don’t happen in the first place.

“I think just figuring out a way to kind of play with the lead a little bit better; we’ve kind of struggled with that this year, and I think at times we get a little stagnant and don’t play with the same pace that we played with in the first half,” Clark said. “… just don’t get stagnant and find a way to continue to push it and extend the lead out, rather than just letting them hang around.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever has most wins since 2016; WNBA playoffs are in sight