It has been Aari McDonald's year of learning on and off the basketball court. The Indiana Fever guard faced a reality early in 2025 when she failed to find a place on any WNBA team. Her luck turned around when the Fever signed her after DeWanna Bonner's exit.McDonald is also taking lessons off the basketball court. According to a post on X, McDonald was enrolled in grad school and had been working hard.On Saturday, she posted on X, revealing her struggles in her quest to manage her professional obligations and academics."Having a 12 page paper due during a 4 game road trip is wild," she wrote.Aari McDonald's mom, Andrea, reacted to the Instagram post by the Fever."I'm proud of many things in life, but none beats being your mom. I love you babe and you got this. ❤️ @aarimcdonald," she commented.McDonald's mom's commentMcDonald was excellent for the Fever when she joined the team on an emergency hardship exception two months ago, with both Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham out for the season. The team had to waive her when Cunningham and Clark returned.The Fever re-signed McDonald when DeWanna Bonner left the team in the middle of the season.Aari McDonald has stepped up in Caitlin Clark's absence The Fever had a tough start to the season, but with Aari McDonald, the results have been excellent so far. They have won 11 of their 17 game that McDonald has played and are on a four-game winning streak.McDonald led the Indiana Fever with a career-high 27 points in a close 107-101 win against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday. After the game, Klesley Mitchell showered praise on her teammate."It's unbelievable. [McDonald] is our blessing in disguise," Mitchell said. We always tell her that we appreciate her seriously because our season was all over the place."I think for Aari, she compliments myself and all the other players so well because she just gets it as far as knowing where people are and knowing the chemistry," Mitchell continued.Mitchell, who has led the Fever's offense throughout the season, highlighted that McDonald stepped in with Caitlin Clark struggling to get back on the floor with her groin injury."I think from us to her, we have to make sure that we keep patting her on the back because this is a big position to fill and I think she's doing unbelievably well."Aari McDonald has also received high praise from coach Stephanie White. After the win against the Dallas Wings on Friday, she praised McDonald's contribution in providing pace to the Fever's offense. White also praised McDonald's high IQ.