Stephanie White and the Indiana Fever faced the Chicago Sky in the second game of a back-to-back set. They were not at full strength as Aliyah Boston was unavailable due to a lower right leg injury. The good news was an unexpected replacement stepped up her game amid the four-time All-Star’s absence.
Monique Billings started in Boston’s place, but she struggled with foul trouble. Mercedes Russell came off the bench, and the seldom-used center proved her worth in 14 crucial minutes. She only recorded three points, one rebound and three assists. However, what the stat sheet doesn’t show is her hustle and defense.
Speaking to the press after the win, White praised Russell’s impact on the game.
“It was huge,” the Fever coach said. “One of the things that I love about Mercedes is that she’s a ball mover, right? She knows how to play and you obviously can’t teach 6’6”, so to have her size and her length on the interior is really important on the defensive end.
“But she gives us somebody else that we can play through. And you could see [Clark] and Kelsey (Mitchell) both being able to play through her and her moving the ball and finding the next pass.
“[Boston] does that for us, too. Having somebody else who can do that is really important. I was proud of her. She was ready.”
Russell, who signed with the Fever earlier this month following the season-ending injury to Damiris Dantas, started the second half ahead of Billings.
Russell’s impressive showing could lead the coaching staff to give her more minutes as the end of the regular season approaches. The Fever have five games remaining and continue to battle for a top 3 seed.
