The Indiana Fever are currently battling it out against the Atlanta Dream in Game 2 of their playoff series. After dropping Game 1, the team’s first home playoff game since 2015 carries a heightened sense of urgency. They are fighting to stay alive. And with Caitlin Clark out and other injuries taking their toll, head coach Stephanie White had a crucial message for her players.

White spoke to the media during a pre-game press conference. She drew attention to Game 1, and described how one can see the Fever did well if one had a

“look at the numbers”, and “how we defended”. In the end, White was convinced that, to do better than that, “We need to make shots”. So, the Indiana Fever might have lost Game 1, but that has only given them the ‘desperation’ they need to ensure the team does not continue to lose.

“No, I think anytime you’ve had experience in in moments like this, um, where your back’s against the wall, where there is a sense of urgency, I think any of it of that experience is helpful,” said White when a reporter asked if the experience and fighting back from adverse situations in the past throughout the season gave the Fever a unique sense of confidence compared to past experiences. “Um, there’s a certain desperation that has to come with how you play every possession. Uh, you know, I don’t I didn’t feel like in game one we played with that desperate, you know, mentality that we needed”.

The Indiana Fever had a good start to their Game 1 against the Atlanta Dream as the squad took a 15-6 lead within the first five minutes of the game. Additionally, it also went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Fever players couldn’t maintain that kind of scoring consistently. Their shooting percentage dropped to just 34.9% from the field. After the game, Stephanie White blamed the loss on her team’s inability to push through foul trouble and meet Atlanta’s level of physicality.

After all, Kelsey Mitchell poured in a game-high 27 points, but her effort alone couldn’t cover up Indiana’s shortcomings. Atlanta’s All-Star duo of Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray combined for 40 points, powering the Dream to their first playoff win since 2018 in front of their home fans. Mitchell was efficient, hitting 9 of her 18 shots (50%), yet the rest of the Fever went just 13-of-45 (29%).

The Fever also committed five fewer fouls than the Dream and attempted eight more free throws, but their offense, according to Basketball reporter Erick Nemchock, “as a whole looked stagnant”. Indianapolis Star reporter Chloe Peterson pointed out that the Dream “outflank the Fever in size in nearly every position group”.

If you can’t win without big and star players, then ‘desperate’ is the way to go. Which, after Damiris Dantas’ injury, makes all the more sense. As Lexie Hull says, the team realized that just in time.

Lexie Hull Highlighted the Indiana Fever Squad’s Mindset Going Into Game 2

Atlanta boasts Brittney Griner (6-foot-9), Bri Jones (6-foot-4) in the post. Naz Hillmon (6-foot-2) and Rhyne Howard (6-foot-2) in the backcourt. Meanwhile, the Fever are playing in this playoff series without Caitlin Clark, Chloe Bibby, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and Aari McDonald.

Damiris Dantas is moving through the WNBA’s concussion protocol. Even as the Fever desperately missed Dantas’ size and ability to space the floor in Game 1, she couldn’t make it. And for Game 2, she was ruled out again. But there’s one change in the mindset now. If the Fever squad didn’t realize that they needed physicality to get through this playoff series before, then they do now.

“We knew coming in, it’s playoffs, it’s going to be physical, and we’re going to have to learn how to play with that, especially this team is inherently a physical team,” said Lexie Hull recently. “So for us, knowing that’s the case and being able to respond, I think there’s things that we’re able to watch in film on how to handle that better, not letting the refs determine how that physicality is impacting us.”

Kelsey Mitchell had also echoed the same psychology, saying, “We gotta be the one to punch first. When they punched us, they punched us hard, and so we got to do the same thing vice versa in order to get our momentum and get our rhythm.”

The use of physicality is reportedly leading to fouls that impact the flow of the game. Indiana was called for 19 fouls, and Atlanta picked up 24 fouls. As Stephanie White highlighted, the team gets momentum, and then four or five foul calls called in a row break it. If there is one thing that has worked for the Indiana Fever squad in the past, it is thriving on getting out ahead of the defense and finding easy buckets. Going forward, they need to continue doing that.

As 4:35 minutes remained in the 4th quarter of Game 2, Stephanie White’s squad led by 73-52. From the looks of it, a lesson was learned after Game 1. Whether their level of success will continue going forward as well is something that remains to be seen.

Update: Indiana Fever won 77-60.