2 Fever Players at Odds With Stephanie White on Key Issue in Wake of Loss vs. Valkyries

Knock knock, tick tock… Indy’s season on the chopping block, because of the shot clock? Indiana Fever failed the test of time (uh, cough, of the malfunctioning shot clock) as last night, with 9:25 left in the second quarter, the clock simply refused to reset after an Indiana rebound. It probably happened because of an older power outage lurking in the system because of which, the play halted for five minutes. From there on, Indy’s rhythm? Frozen, at least if you believe HC Stephanie White.

The game restarted, only to hit another glitch less than a minute later. This time, the freeze lasted 19 surreal minutes… long enough for popcorn refills and existential dread. When asked postgame, “The shot clock issues in the first quarter, do you think that affected the rhythm of the game? How do you try to help?” Stephanie White didn’t hesitate to send the blame Tissot’s way: “It certainly affected the rhythm of the game. I don’t know if it affected the readiness at all. But yeah, I mean it’s disruptive. It’s not something that you expect to see.”

Stephanie White then softened the jab with damage control: “But we often talk about controlling the things that we can control, and we couldn’t control that. So staying warm and staying engaged. I thought that we did what we could to work through the issue.” But her verdict was obvious: the tech meltdown threw Indy off. Only… not everyone bought that excuse.

When Natasha Howard was asked, “First off, the shots off the first half—how did that affect the game? What was your reaction after that?” she didn’t bite. “That type of stuff we can’t control. So with that, it didn’t throw off no rhythm at all, nothing like that. Like I said, some things we can’t control on either team.” Howard’s point was clear: Valkyries endured the same 1-hour-32-minute marathon first half.

And endure they did. Thanks to all the stoppages, the first half felt less like basketball and more like a Netflix binge, clocking in at 92 minutes. Both teams, despite looking for ways to kill time, looked visibly frustrated by the stop-and-go pace of Sunday’s matchup, which stretched to a grueling two hours and 45 minutes. But in the end, the Valkyries made sure the sold-out crowd of 18,064 had plenty to celebrate, and dance about, once the final buzzer sounded.

Indiana tried to mount a comeback in the third, cutting the lead to seven heading into the final 10 minutes. Former Valkyries guard Aerial Powers narrowed it even further, slicing the Golden State advantage to just five with a slick layup at the 7:37 mark of the fourth. But just as the Fever looked ready to snatch a single-possession game, Powers fouled Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench. Martin didn’t miss a beat, swishing the shot and sending the Chase Center crowd into a frenzy. From there, the Fever never regained momentum. Carla Leite sealed the deal with a wild circus shot from the left wing while getting fouled, with just over 90 seconds left. So, yes, GSV didn’t let the stoppage ruin their mental rhythm.

So, even Aerial Powers wasn’t letting White’s narrative slide. When asked, “Were those shot clock issues in the first quarter. How did that affect your rhythm, or what was your reaction?” she cut straight through the static: “No, I don’t think that was part of it. It was our defense. No excuses with the shot clock. No matter what, they had to play against it too. It wasn’t just on us. So, no excuses there. We just had some defensive mishaps for sure.”

Translation: the malfunction may have stolen time, but Indy’s defense gifted the Valks the game, as they pushed the Fever down to 8th place in the standings. Even White, begrudgingly so, admitted.

The Valks won the mental match, again

With this sweep, the newest team has taken Indiana 3-0, yanking the 6th-place rug right out from under them. The way they did it speaks volumes about their mental toughness, and just as much about Indiana’s struggles in that department. While the team as a whole shares the blame, Aerial Powers and Aliyah Boston stand out most.

• At 8:39 in the first quarter, Boston grabbed her own rebound but immediately lost possession. Veronica Burton quickly converted the turnover into a bucket for Kaila Charles at 8:35.
• At 7:52 in the second, Powers committed a shooting foul on Janelle Salaün. Salaün made 1 of her 2 free throws.
• At 6:01 in the third, Boston’s errant pass was intercepted by Charles, who scored a two-point shot that Boston couldn’t defend.
• At 7:07 in the fourth, after Kate Martin made a three-pointer, Powers’ aggressive closeout led to a Flagrant 1 foul. The Fever requested a review, but the call was upheld. During this stretch, the Fever went scoreless, allowing the Valkyries to extend their lead from 50-58 to 50-66.

And so, White had added, “And, you know, I felt like, you know, anytime we potentially had an opportunity, I mean, it was like a five-point game with seven and a half minutes left. We had an opportunity to close the gap and we just had some mental breakdowns that killed us and allowed them to go on runs.” That said, White is still hopeful, taking it one game at a time. However, just four games remain. How do you think Indiana will fare?