The Indiana Fever aren’t weighed down by yesterday. Resilience is their trademark, but 4 playoff wins don’t happen on grit alone. It is their attitude that makes a difference. “We want to keep playing another game in Vegas. We don’t want our season to end,” Lexie Hull said before the Game 4 fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Aces. Sure enough, the Fever closed out the 83-90 win, but Stephanie White is not satisfied yet. 

Showing the perfect balance of celebration while keeping their feet grounded, Stephanie White said in the post game media conference, “I’m incredibly proud of the effort that we’ve put forth to this point and you know we got another big one on Tuesday so we’re going to enjoy this today and we’re going to come back tomorrow and be locked in and focused on moving forward.” Then she flashed a 10-word message to her squad, “What we did today is not going to be enough for Tuesday (Game 5).”

While stats across the board generally favoured the Indiana Fever, some red flags showed up, too. Fever shot 30-67 from the field, which converted to 44.8% FG, while the Aces were more accurate at 49.3%. Their perimeter shooting wasn’t a weapon, shooting only 26.7% from the three-point line. The ball wasn’t moving around much as they scored only 14 points off assists (Aces scored 22).  They were largely dependent on Kelsey Mitchell’s rapid pace, Aliyah Boston’s physicality in the paint, and Odyssey Sims’ drives. While that worked on the day, we have seen the result when it doesn’t. 

The Fever let A’ja Wilson do 4-time MVP stuff as she dropped 31 points and 9 rebounds after restricting her in 2 out of the first 3 games.  Their defense might need some brush-up going into that Game 5. Make no mistake, Stephanie White and the Indiana Fever wiped the floor with the Aces through their aggressive rebounding (won 42-38), clever interceptions (25 points off Vegas turnovers), and rapid pace (15 fastbreak points). Their shortcomings are a result of this lineup being practically bandaged together. The important thing is, they are finding ways to win. It might not always look pretty, but at the end of the day, the scoreline reads 2-2. 

Stephanie White’s Rule: Keep It Simple, Beat the Aces.

We have heard infinite times that the ‘process matters more than the results’. However, Stephanie and the Indiana Fever are well past it. The injuries and the controversies have eventually tired them out. Which was a big concern heading into Game 4, but they came out fresher than ever. “You ain’t got time to be tired at this point,” White responded before Game 3 when asked about her team’s fatigue level in the postseason. 

Lexie Hull said, “Steph always says no one needs to do anything more than what they normally do. No one needs to play outside of themselves, and everyone has a way to impact the game, and I think that’s what’s been really, really cool to see.”

 Stephanie White is not overthinking it. Even when it comes to A’ja Wilson, the biggest thorn on the Aces, she has kept it simple. Allowing Aliyah Boston to prove herself while going head-to-head against fellow Gamecock alum. She hasn’t even put much pressure on Boston, “AB’s doing a heck of a job. She’s challenging; she’s making every shot that she can difficult. A’ja Wilson is the best player in the world, so I don’t know that we’ll replicate that,” White had said before Game 3. One sequence that resonated with how Fever approach things was involving their backup point guard, Shey Peddy. 

A three-pointer completely slipped out of Peddy’s hand, and she knew it immediately. The point guard turned with her hands on her head even before the ball touched the ground. The very next play, Peddy hustled for a steal and got an easy bucket. The Fever aren’t chasing a narrative, they’re chasing the next possession: one step from the Finals.