Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever secured a fifth consecutive win on Tuesday night, jumping to 24-12 on the 2026 WNBA season after a 101-95 win over Marina Mabrey and the Toronto Tempo. And with the Las Vegas Aces’ 97-82 loss to the Atlanta Dream on the same night, the Fever were able to jump ahead of the defending champions for third place in the league standings.
The Indiana trio of Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston has helped Indiana get into a prime position to clinch a spot in the WNBA playoffs for a third straight year. And with their win on Tuesday, the Fever’s magic number is now at one, needing just a win on Thursday against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings to get back to the postseason.
But the same can’t be said about coach Sandy Brondello and the Tempo in their inaugural WNBA season, who are now riding a 12-game losing streak.
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About 24 hours after falling to Indiana, the Tempo played the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday evening, facing Kiki Rice and the Washington Mystics. Sitting at 10-24 prior to the game, Toronto needed to win to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive.
But with Mabrey out, it didn’t work out that way, falling to the Mystics 93-82 and dropping to 10-25 on the year. And with the loss, the Tempo became the third team in the WNBA to be eliminated from the postseason. The other two teams that have been eliminated are the Connecticut Sun (9-25) and the Seattle Storm (7-30).
Only three teams have clinched a spot in the playoffs so far, including the Minnesota Lynx (29-7), the Golden State Valkyries (25-9) and the Aces (24-13).
“The Tempo are officially eliminated from playoff contention after the 93-82 loss to the Mystics,” ESPN’s Kareem Copeland wrote on X.
The Fever will face the Wings on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, while the Tempo will face the Portland Fire on Friday at 10 p.m. ET.
