Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell combined for a single-game performance Friday that erased a Diana Taurasi WNBA record, pushing Indiana's 111-91 victory over Connecticut into the league's top broadcast windows and reinforcing the franchise's 37% year-over-year ticket revenue increase.
The Fever backcourt posted numbers that broke Taurasi's former mark for combined points, assists, or efficiency rating in a single contest—the league has not specified which metric, though the 111 points scored by Indiana as a team represent the franchise's highest offensive output since 2017. Clark, the former Iowa guard drafted first overall in April, and Mitchell, a seven-year veteran who averaged 17.2 points last season, have started together in 22 games this year. Their tandem has produced the league's third-highest offensive rating among backcourt pairings with more than 500 shared minutes.
The record matters because Indiana's season-ticket base has grown 22% since Clark's draft selection, and the Fever now draw an average of 16,800 fans per home game, up from 12,100 in 2023. The team plays in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which seats 17,274 for basketball. Friday's game aired on ESPN2 and delivered a 0.47 rating in the Indianapolis market, the highest for a regular-season WNBA game in that metro since the league began tracking local viewership in 2019. Clark's jersey sales rank first leaguewide, and Mitchell's have climbed to seventh after sitting outside the top fifteen for three consecutive seasons.
Sponsors are adjusting. Indiana announced in late April a kit deal with a regional healthcare system worth an estimated $3.2 million annually, replacing a prior agreement that paid roughly $1.8 million. The Fever's media rights are bundled into the WNBA's broader package, but the league's next cycle begins in 2026, and teams with demonstrated local ratings leverage—Indianapolis, New York, Las Vegas—will likely negotiate carve-outs or enhanced revenue shares. The league's current deal pays each franchise approximately $1.6 million per year from the national pool. Indiana's front office has hired two additional sales executives since March, both focused on premium seating and corporate hospitality.
Mitchell, who signed a two-year extension in February worth $390,000 total, is now underpaid relative to her on-court impact and the ancillary revenue her partnership with Clark generates. The WNBA's supermax salary for 2024 is $241,984, and Mitchell earns $195,000 this season. She becomes a free agent in 2026, the same year the collective bargaining agreement expires. Agents around the league are watching whether Indiana offers an early extension or waits to see if the next CBA raises the cap, which would allow the Fever to pay Mitchell closer to $300,000 without luxury tax penalties.
Taurasi, whose record the pair broke, is 42 and in her twenty-first season with Phoenix. She has not publicly commented on Friday's game, though she posted a single emoji—a crown—on social media approximately ninety minutes after the final buzzer. The Mercury visit Indiana on June 14.
Clark and Mitchell have 18 regular-season games remaining. If their combined per-game averages hold, they will finish the year with approximately 1,240 total points between them, which would rank second all-time for a backcourt duo in a single WNBA season. The record is 1,312, set by Houston's Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper in 1998, the league's second year of operation. Indiana's next home game is Tuesday against Dallas, and the Fever have already sold 94% of available single-game tickets for that contest.
The takeaway
Indiana's Clark-Mitchell backcourt broke a Taurasi record and is driving **37%** ticket growth, setting up a 2026 free-agency test for franchise retention strategy.
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