Aari McDonald joins the Indiana Fever via a hardship exception, the team announced on Monday. The 5-foot-6-inch point guard, and No. 3 pick in the 2021 WNBA draft, has previously played for the Atlanta Dream and Los Angeles Sparks, averaging 8.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game throughout her career.
McDonald was added to the team after the Fever fell below 10 available players due to a series of recent injuries in their backcourt. Last Monday, Caitlin Clark, the number 1 pick of the 2024 draft, was ruled out for at least two weeks due to a quadriceps strain. Then, Indiana lost Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson to injury during Friday’s game against the Connecticut Sun. White said on Sunday that Cunningham and Colson received “good news” from their MRIs and should return “sooner rather than later.” Colson participated in the entire practice on Monday, White said, before the Fever’s Tuesday game against the Washington Mystics, but the coach added that they will see how he “recovers from this and make sure there are no setbacks.” The Fever (2-4) enter Tuesday’s game on a three-game losing streak, including the two losses they’ve had since Clark was out.“I’ve always been impressed with her ability to defend, her activity level on the defensive end of the court, her ability to get to the paint and make decisions when she gets there,” coach Stephanie White said on Monday. “She’s a true point guard, so she brings that energy, she brings the ability to dictate, and she’s been very good so far.”
Stephanie White
“I think every time you face adversity, it gives you an opportunity to grow through it,” White said on Monday. “I’d rather this happen to us now in May, so we can grow through it, not only from an execution standpoint, but also from a toughness standpoint, mental toughness and physical toughness, and be better because of it.”
Stephanie White
