Fever Defeat Sky 97-77 with Mitchell's 20 Points and Howard's 18

Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) drives against Chicago Sky's Kamilla Cardoso (10) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game. AP Photo/Darron Cummings

INDIANAPOLIS — Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 points, Natasha Howard added 18 and the Indiana Fever moved closer to securing a playoff berth with a 97-77 win over the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

The Fever announced Thursday that Caitlin Clark would miss the rest of the season with a groin injury. Meanwhile, the Sky were without Angel Reese after she picked up her eighth technical foul and received an automatic one-game suspension.

Indiana went 5-0 against Chicago this season, winning by an average of 24 points. The Fever need one win or a Sparks loss to secure a playoff spot.

Odyssey Sims scored 13 points and Aliyah Boston 11 for the Fever (22-20), who moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles in the race for the final playoff spot.

Kamilla Cardoso and Michaela Onyenwere each scored 18 points for the Sky (10-31). Elizabeth Williams added 13 points with 11 rebounds, and Ariel Atkins scored 10.

Indiana made a statement in the first quarter by racing to a 31-15 lead. The Fever were 10-for-14 shooting and had 10 assists.

Both teams finished at 52%, but Indiana was 38 of 73, while Chicago was 25 of 48. Chicago was slowed by 24 turnovers that the Fever turned into 24 points.

Indiana is at Washington on Sunday, and Chicago is at Las Vegas.