Indiana Fever fans couldn’t have stopped replaying that third-quarter flurry from Game 2 in their minds. Aliyah Boston finished with a layup, and on the very next inbound, Kelsey Mitchell picked Naz Hillmon’s pocket. She quickly fed it back to Boston, who spotted a wide-open Lexie Hull in the corner for the dagger, and the Gainbridge Fieldhouse came alive. That play buried the Dream as Fever dominated for the 77-60 win. However, they once again face elimination, in Game 3 away from home, and coach Stephanie White has listed out her demands.

“What do you feel like are the biggest things (to take from Game 2)?” asked a reporter after Fever’s final shootaround before the big game. Game 2 was one of the highlights of Fever’s 2025 season. The Fever held the Dream, who rely the most on their three-ball, to just 5 of 19 (26%) from 3-point range in the entire 40 minutes. But Stephanie White still argued the need for consistency while detailing her requirements.

White answered, “Rebounding, keeping them off the free throw line for sure. We had this one on the defensive end. And then shot making. We’ve got to be aggressive. We can’t be hesitant. Um, we’ve got to let the ball find the right shot. It’s got to be moving side to side. We got to be willing to get to the third and fourth actions. That’s often times when we’re getting our looks. Um, and we’ve got to be consistent.”

In a surprising turn of events, the Indiana Fever won 37-27 on the boards, which has not been their strong suit. The Dream is the best team on the boards with 36.6 rebounds per game, while the Fever is ninth with 33.3. It was a complete team effort as five players had 5 or more rebounds, with Aerial Powers leading the way at 7. The intensity was spot on for each minute as they snagged 19 points off turnovers.

And despite making 19 turnovers, they conceded only 17 points, tracking back to each mistake. They were perfect at the free-throw line, making 15-15, which will be hard to repeat. Each of these metrics will be hard to repeat in Game 3, and they had only 16 assists. Indiana will need crisper ball movement to outlast the Dream in Game 3, with Atlanta poised to be sharper and more efficient this time around.

Aliyah Boston Holds the Keys to Indiana Fever’s Game 3 Fate

The Indiana Fever and Stephanie White know why the Atlanta Dream were their worst opponent. They would have probably preferred Phoenix or even the Aces instead of the Dream. The problem? Size. The Dream is stacked up with Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, Naz Hillmon, and Rhyne Howard, all well above 6 feet. Aliyah Boston did a pretty great job at locking down Brionna Jones in Game 2, with some fireworks going off between the two.

Lexie Hull admitted before Game 3, “We were feeding AB more. She got more touches. She ran our offense a little bit more, which I think we can definitely count on, and we have counted on her to come up big in a lot of games this season, but um, she’s, you know, a big key for sure.”

Boston finished that game with 15 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds while limiting Jones to just 8 points and 2 rebounds. This season, she has averaged 13.5 points, 5 assists, and 6.75 rebounds against the Dream in the regular season. While her head-to-head match-up against the bigs is important, her ability to run the offense is vital, too.

With Indiana without its regular point guard in Caitlin Clark, a lot of the offense runs through Boston. Boston was +15 in Game 2 but -6 in their Game 1 loss, further underscoring her importance. Boston’s positioning and verticality are central to keeping Atlanta’s drivers in check, too. While she does the dirty work in the paint, Boston will be needed to do it without fouling. Last game, she ran into foul trouble with her 2nd in the second quarter and sat out the rest of the 6:34 minutes. Fortunately, Fever did not lose steam, going on a 10-2 run, but there is no guarantee it will happen again.