Three wins in three preseason games. The Indiana Fever could not have asked for a better start before they kick off their regular season. While Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Sophie Cunningham continue to dominate the opponents, HC Stephanie White has raised some serious concerns with the regular season looming around the corner.

Even though the Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream on Saturday and ended their preseason on a dominant note, there were several red flags that the Fever need to be mindful of. The Fever guards, Sophie Cunningham and DeWanna Bonner, held the fort during the Dream game. Bonner, a WNBA veteran, averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 20 minutes, and Clark? Well, the WNBA phenom graced the court with another splendid 13 points. Forward Lexie Hull, who came off the bench, contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Still, the Fever could not avoid technical fouls and half turnovers that nearly cost the game for Indiana.

Despite winning the game at Gateway Park Arena, 81-76, the Fever had just a 2-point lead [42-40] at halftime. Reason? The Fever had 10 first-half turnovers. Knowing White, who is “fan of a high assist to field goal ratio”, the Fever HC unapologetically bashed her team for the poor performance in the first half. “I was disappointed that we had 10 first-half turnovers. A lot of them were trying to force things that just weren’t there,” she said.

And since the Fever were mindful of their first-half mistakes before entering the second half of the game, White also praised the team, saying, “We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half.” Well, a win is a win, and Stephanie White will take that. However, when we talk about half-turnovers, you can not just ignore the fact that the Fever’s star player Caitlin Clark’s tryst with turnovers. Clark, who has been ranked 4th in ESPN’s WNBA player rankings, has a history with turnovers, starting from her rookie year in 2024.

She even surpassed veteran player Nikki McCray to set a new record in that department. Averaging 5.7 turnovers per game in 2024, Clark led with 223 turnovers in over 40 games. Besides, Clark’s 10 turnovers in the debut game against the Connecticut Sun became a talking point across the league. No wonder Saturday’s overall turnovers sounded similar and took us all down the not-so-fascinating memory lane.

Though she confessed to working on her “unbreakable habit,” Clark has come a long way since. She has indeed shown a significant improvement in her sophomore year in the WNBA with enhanced communication and a more refined game. With HC White on her side and Fever rooting for her performance, Clark has nothing to worry about. And while three’s the preseason charm, Stephanie expects an even better gameplay ahead of the regular season. As someone who has praised Clark ever since the 2024 WNBA draft Lottery, Stephanie expects a flawless performance from the key player.

Stephanie White as Caitlin Clark’s biggest supporter

“To me, I think it’s Caitlin Clark. I think it’s Caitlin Clark not just because she can score the basketball really at all three levels, but she got stronger. She has gotten better every year, she put on six pounds of muscle from a season ago… and she reads the game,” Stephanie White had said on ESPN’s 2024 WNBA Draft lottery.

One of the first head coaches to openly accept Clark into the W, Stephanie has praised Clark on numerous occasions. She has also defended the Fever forward’s rookie games, especially those surrounding the fouls and turnovers. “When I’m looking at all these things that people are talking about with Caitlin Clark, it’s like, guys, chill out,” White said. “She’s gonna be fine. It’s two games in, are you kidding me?”  While Clark was still finding her footing in the pro games, the former Connecticut Sun HC supported her from behind the scenes.

So, when the two came together for the 2025 season, White has provided a more rigorous outlook, coupled with enthusiasm to the team and the standout player. Not to mention, despite her disappointment with the team last Sunday, White was all praise for Caitlin. She was quick to compare the Stephen Curry of Women’s basketball to her NBA counterpart and said, “That’s just who she is. I mean, nobody tells Steph Curry not to take good shots, right?”

While the relationship between the head coach and Clark is unspeakably strong, will it create magic in the upcoming regular season? That remains to be seen. Be it turnovers, fouls, or the referee troubles, Stephanie White is visibly propelling the Fever’s roster towards something greater by pushing them to work on these issues. And as for Clark, it remains to be seen how her performance in the regular season makes the opponents go speechless.