Basketball is a game of momentum. At any moment, a lead can dwindle, and momentum can shift. When the Dallas Wings came through Gainbridge Fieldhouse Tuesday night to take on the Indiana Fever, this was exactly the case.

The fist quarter saw both teams struggling early but the Wings caught fire first, dominating every area of the game. The Fever didn’t help themselves, missing open shots, making bad passes, and not hitting the glass but questionable calls from the officials also played a role in the rough Fever first quarter as well.

At one point, Indiana was shooting under 25% from the field, but Chloe Bibby kept the team alive from the field, draining key three-point shots and Aliyah Boston also played a major role down low, defending the paint down the stretch.

The second quarter saw the Fever start to click. Halfway through the period, the shots started to fall. Kelsey Mitchell started to come into her own and find her groove while Boston and Natasha Howard turned up the defense down low, forcing numerous Dallas missed shots.

What was a 14-point lead slowly got tighter and tighter until the Fever had somehow tied the game going into halftime.

The second half was more of the same. The Fever came out of the gate sluggish and sloppy, throwing away passes, not getting rebounds and the Wings also pressured them at every opportunity.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Fever turned the temperature back up and cut the lead down again. However, the Dallas lead was up in double digits again and seemed too much for Indiana to overcome. That wasn’t the case, though, as Kelsey Mitchell amped it up and took over.

Late in the game, she attempted a three-pointer and was fouled, heading to the line to cut the lead down to just one point, which she did. With just seconds left, the Fever had the ball and the chance to cap off one hell of a comeback, but it wasn’t meant to be, as the shot fell short and the Wings took the 81-80 win.

The Fever return to action Friday night, when they return home to face the Washington Mystics at 7:30 p.m.

-Reggie Edwards