Grace Berger sent divorce letter to the husband announcing….

Grace Berger sent divorce letter to the husband announcing….

willing to do ‘anything’ to provide spark for Fever. She did on Thursday.

Portrait of Zion Brown

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever began their preseason home opener out of sorts. Missed shots, defensive miscues and careless turnovers defined the first quarter and change of Thursday’s game vs. Atlanta.

Then came Grace Berger.

Despite veteran guards Kelsey Mitchell (left ankle) and Erica Wheeler (illness) being out on Thursday, Berger didn’t play in the first quarter against the Dream. When the second-year guard subbed in with 7:39 left in the second quarter, the Fever trailed by 15.

Berger assisted on Fever baskets in her first three possessions on the floor to catalyze a quick 7-0 run. By the time the quarter ended, Berger had two more assists and Indiana was down just a point.

Berger finished with six points, five rebounds and seven assists. Her presence brought the Fever back into the game they eventually won 83-80.

“She came out there and she stabilized us,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “She got us into some offense and we got good looks off it.”

Berger knows her playing time will fluctuate. With a guard rotation headlined by No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark and the two highest-paid players on the team — Mitchell and Wheeler — getting Berger involved isn’t a priority. But the IU grad feels she can bring a necessary punch off the bench.

“As someone coming off the bench, it’s good that I get to kind of analyze the start of the game and can see what my team needs,” Berger said. “And then hopefully, I can come in and meet that need in any way I can. Whether that’s rebounding, defense, running the team — really anything that I can do to provide that spark off the bench.”

After a few minutes of Berger running point guard, Clark subbed back in to play alongside Berger. The Fever ran a three-guard lineup of Clark, Berger and second-round rookie Celeste Taylor. With starting post players NaLyssa Smith and Aliyah Boston down low, the Fever’s momentum continued.

When Berger first entered the game, she was the team’s point guard. When she played with Clark and Taylor, Berger essentially became the small forward in that lineup. Berger played well enough to be in Indiana’s closing lineup, where she played shooting guard with Clark at point guard and free agent addition Katie Lou Samuelson at small forward.

Indiana Fever guard Grace Berger (34) shoots the ball against Atlanta Dream guard Haley Jones (13) on Thursday, May 9, 2024, during the preseason game against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Fever have an abundance of lineup combinations to try throughout the year. If Berger can effectively alternate between playing three different positions on the floor, she’ll bring substantial value to what Sides and her staff do in 2024.

Berger was tasked with multiple roles in her 19 minutes of action, and she answered the challenge, finishing with a game-high +16 +/-.