“fought till the end 💔“ is what the official X account of the Indiana Fever wrote after the Game 5 loss against the Las Vegas Aces. The odds were against the Indiana Fever right from the early stage of the 2025 WNBA season. By the time the franchise reached the playoffs, the players had been marred with injuries, which included a season-ending groin problem for cornerstone superstar Caitlin Clark. As if the situation couldn’t get worse, even Kelsey Mitchell went down with an ailment during the recent matchup. Amidst all this, however, Stephanie White wasn’t losing hope, nor was she allowing her players to do so.

According to reports, the Indiana Fever head coach addressed her players immediately after Kelsey Mitchell departed from the game. As the squad formed a huddle, White reportedly said, “Again, we’ve been in this position before, right? We’ve got to play for our teammate. We got to fight for out teammate. Tooth and nail. Ain’t nobody in a better position to do this than us. Ain’t nobody. But we got to stay locked in. We’ve got to stay locked in in everything that we do. This, we got to feel it. But when we step out on the floor, we’ve got to honor it. We’ve got to honor it in everything that we do.”

Kelsey Mitchell went down when 5:05 minutes remained in the 3rd quarter. The Fever squad, who were trailing the Aces 59-55 at that point, surrounded the point guard/shooting guard with towels while she lay on her back. She was later seen rolling over onto her stomach as the team staff reportedly appeared to stretch her leg. Mitchell eventually got carried to the locker room in an attempt to put no pressure on her left leg.

It was initially reported by the ESPN broadcast that Mitchell had a cramp. A tearful Stephanie White confirmed during the postgame press conference that Mitchell had severe lower-body cramping and was at the hospital receiving fluids. Mitchell’s condition brought out reactions from not only her coach but also her on-court rival. A’ja Wilson, who now heads to her 4th Finals appearance, said, “Prayers for Kelsey Mithcell. That is my draft partner. To see her go down like that was not good. Super prayers out to her. She’s just had a phenomenal season, and I really hope that the Indiana Fever continue to take care of her, because she’s a gem.”

Kelsey Mitchell exited the game after scoring 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists over the course of 23 minutes. On the shooting front, she made 4-8 (50.0%) field goals, 3-3 (100.0%) 3-pointers, and 4-5 (80.0%) free throws. Given that Mitchell played for 39 and 37 minutes during Game 3 and Game 4, we could have expected more from her had the cramping not taken hold of her.

Losing the 29-year-old not only removed an efficient scorer, but it would have cast some doubts on the team. Therefore, even after giving those rousing remarks, Stephanie White added in the end that “We fight for her right now. Let’s go”. The Fever squad remained motivated enough to reach and close the 8-point lead that the Aces had. Eventually, Odyssey Sims and co managed to take the game to overtime, but the Aces got the edge and closed the game with a 107-98 score.

One more win, and Stephanie White would have made her 2nd Finals appearance as a head coach. With 8 players continuing to remain injured, it’s hard to know whether White will get a chance like this again. Despite that, she was nothing but thankful for her journey through the recent regular season and the playoffs.

Stephanie White Gives Top Spot to Kelsey Mitchell and co: “it’s a special story”

During the post-game presser, Stephanie White was reminded by a reporter about how rosters change from year to year, and teams seldom have the same groups for 2 years or more. The reporter personally believed that the roster would be something people would be talking about for years to come, and just wanted White’s viewpoint on it. The head coach replied, “I think the first word that comes to mind is just Gratitude. I mean, I’ve experienced some special teams in this league, in this organization. But collectively, this group has been at the top, so I’m extremely grateful for every single one of them.”

It is important to remember that the Indiana Fever were considered to be the underdogs on several occasions during their recent run. Before the 2025 WNBA postseason got underway, 9 ESPN staff members were reportedly asked who would win in the first round of the playoffs. When the choice came between the Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever, all 9 of the staff members voted for Atlanta, with 8 voting for a sweep! Before Game 1 of the Aces-Fever series, Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter, and Chiney Ogwumike picked the Aces to win the matchup. Carter and Ogwumike, along with Carolyn Peck, did the same for Game 4 as well. With 7-8 players sidelined due to injuries, it made sense that the odds didn’t favor the Fever. The fact that the team still made it to Game 5 of the Semi-Finals makes them extra special.

“We know this is going to be an off-season full of change in the league. But what these women accomplished together, I mean, it’s…. it’s a special story. It’s a special story. And I hope one day it’s told, but I just, I’m so proud and so, so grateful.”

The 2025 Indiana Fever squad showed just how far they can go without stars like Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, etc. With any hope, the trio of Clark, Cunningham, and Kelsey Mitchell gets their revenge in the 2026 season and makes it all the way to the Finals.