The moment you count the Indiana Fever out of it, they come back, swinging harder. After being down five key players, people doubted whether they would reach the playoffs, let alone the semifinals. And against all odds, Stephanie White has led the Fever to yet another semifinal (last time being in 2015). However, the journey was not all sunshine and roses after Fever made it into the postseason.

Standing in front of them was the best defensive roster in the league. Karl Smesko had made Gateway Center Arena a fortress. Add on top of that another key bench player got injured, Damiris Dantas. The Brazilian player got hurt a week before the first game against Atlanta. Unfortunately, the first game was a whitewash. Atlanta completely shut down Fever, 80-68, with only two Indiana players reaching double-digit points.

But the Indiana Fever completely flipped the script in the next two games. Both of those games were do-or-die ones, and the Fever players decided to give it their all. But from where did this change come from? Brianna Turner claims the team looked into the past to draw inspiration. Talking about the 2-1 comeback after game 3, Turner said, “We were even talking in the locker room about how a few weeks ago we were down to Connecticut by like 20 and came back and won. So I think we had so many little points throughout the season that prepared us for this moment tonight.”

The game Turner is referring to was the August 17 game between the Fever and the Sun. At the start of the third quarter of the game, Indiana trailed by 21 points. But they came back to beat Connecticut 99-93 in overtime. That game was a Kelsey Mitchell show. She matched her career high with 38 points to lead the Fever, with 34 of her 38 points coming in the second half. In the absence of Caitlin Clark, Mitchell was the shining light of Indiana.

As their top scorer in six of the last eight, she was averaging 20.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in the regular season. And now again in the playoff series, it was Mitchell who paved the way. The Fever veteran was the leading scorer overall in the round one series, dropping 70 points in three games.

But Mitchell credits this to Fever head coach Stephanie White, claiming she allowed her to play her natural game. “I’ve had five coaches in eight years. I’ve been on the worst record teams here with the Indiana Fever, so I know where my career started. I know what I’ve kind of had to go through to kind of be in this position. I’ve never had a coach that poured into me, respectfully, like Steph has,” Mitchell said.

Her feelings were echoed by Turner, who claims the play White drew was the tipping point. “Steph really had a game plan for us, and it’s really hard to play a team three games in a row. I think it’s really hard to come here and win game three on the road. But somehow, someway, we found a way to get it done,” said the Indiana Fever player. But now, Fever has a daunting opponent ahead of them: The Las Vegas Aces, led by the 2025 DPOY A’ja Wilson.

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces stand between the Indiana Fever and their championship dream

Credit where credit is due, Stephanie White has done a great job taking Indiana to the semifinals. And if she can lead them to the grand final once again, it will cement her legacy as a coach. But for that, she would have to take down veteran Becky Hammon and her team of Las Vegas. Interestingly, if you look at the regular season, Indiana has won two out of the three games they went head-to-head. And both wins were by a considerable margin of 27 points and 10 points.

But that was early in the season. The Aces have been rampant in the latter half, going on a 16-game win streak to cap off their regular season. Even the Aces are not taking the Fever lightly. They know what White’s team is capable of and do not want to repeat the same mistakes Atlanta made. After defeating the Seattle Storm, A’ja Wilson was quick to issue a warning against Kelsey Mitchell.

“Our biggest one is just going to be containing the basketball without fouling. I mean, Kelsey Mitchell’s having one heck of a year and, uh, it’s going to be hard to slow her down, but it’s not going to be just me and Jackie. It’s going to have to take all of us on the defensive end,” she said. And historically, Mitchell has been shut down by collective team effort. What makes the Indiana Fever player lethal is her quick drive to the net. She drains buckets while drawing a foul, which makes guarding her a nuisance.

But first year team the Valkyries showed how Mitchell can be stopped. The Valkyries held her to just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. These are below par numbers for Mitchell, who averages 20+ a game. But will the Aces be able to contain her, or will the Indiana roster put a storybook run to the finals? Only time will tell. The two teams will square up in the Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday for Game 1 of the semifinals.