Wrong calls and relentless play—Indiana Fever just won’t back down. Are the referees targeting Lexie Hull, or is the forward simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? By halftime, the Fever had shown grit, keeping pace with the Atlanta Dream in their first-round playoff matchup. As underdogs facing a bigger, healthier team on the road, staying within three possessions is already a testament to their toughness. Still, as the game progressed and key players were in foul trouble, every pass, drive, and defensive rotation came under extra scrutiny, forcing the Fever to calculate each move.

Early in the second quarter, Lexie Hull turned around and collided with Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream. As Fieldhouse reporter Scott Agness put it, “Lexie Hull turned to run down the floor and collided with Howard. Unlucky. But now they’re reviewing for flagrant foul. Unnecessary.” The word ‘unnecessary’ makes a lot of sense here, because all Hull did was pivot around and run, making the contact purely incidental. And Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White agrees!

The fact that the idea of a flagrant foul was even brought into question earned White’s ire. “She’s gotta be able to turn and go!” White said quite clearly on the broadcast, contesting the call personally with the refs. Some fans are calling it a blocking foul on Howard’s part because she limited Hull’s movement, but the right decision was to keep the game going. But is it the first time?

The 2025 season has seen the Indiana Fever repeatedly clash with referees, often centering on star guard Caitlin Clark. In games against the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings, Clark was visibly frustrated by missed foul calls, sometimes leading to heated exchanges with officials. Fever coaches and players frequently criticized officiating inconsistencies, with multiple technical fouls and ejections highlighting tensions. In one notable matchup against the Sun, Sophie Cunningham was ejected after defending Clark, further amplifying the debate over how games are officiated.

These incidents have sparked broader discussions across the WNBA about officiating standards and accountability. These kinds of fouls ruin the flow of the game and might even provide an unfair advantage to the home side. Suddenly, a starter for the Fever is in major foul trouble by halftime, because this wasn’t her first foul either. As luck would have it, Hull fouled Howard earlier, at the end of the first quarter, which is leading people to ask some uncomfortable questions.

But even though these fouls were unfair, the larger picture is still negative for the Indiana Fever. They have lost in game 1 and need to desperately win in game 2. We knew Atlanta wouldn’t be an easy matchup for the Fever, and even head coach Stephanie White felt that heat. Let’s take a look at where exactly Atlanta is gaining the upper hand on the Fever right now.

Lexie Hull’s foul trouble casts a shadow on Indiana’s postseason showcase

Losing one of your best forwards to foul trouble always hurts. Indiana’s Lexie Hull racked up two early personal fouls at the beginning of the game, and since then? She’s been a little mindful of what she’s doing on defense. However, Indiana’s struggles are much larger than just the fouls on Hull. Atlanta has been outplaying them all game long, and they’ve been helpless to stop it.

While talking about the edge Atlanta has over her team, Stephanie White outlined two major reasons—size and spacing. Calling the Dream’s size “the biggest challenge,” the Fever head coach did not understate the importance of the spacing that they have, and it is showing!

Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon have been shooting really well from three this game, and that is forcing the bigs outside of the paint, and allowing guards to force 1-on-1 matchups for fun. Not to mention, their offensive rebounding has been crazily effective in generating second chances and converting possessions in a crucial game.

It will be interesting to see how the Indiana Fever battle Atlanta’s size and spacing in the remaining matchups. Of course, this is but the first game in this round, and all the takeaways are a part of their learning. Do you think Indiana can still turn things around in the next game? Yes, the Dream does look like the better side between the two, but never rule out an Indiana cover back. They showed it by winning three games in a row; they can still win 2 wins for that matter.