When star offseason acquisition DeWanna Bonner left the team early in the season, the team found a way to stay afloat with what they had. As Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Damiris Dantas, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, and Chloe Bibby missed time, other players stepped up and battled. When the team was losing control of their playoff spot late in the season, they rattled off wins in five of their last seven games — including the final three in a row.
The Fever had many chances to fold. And nobody would have blamed them in a season from hell. But they never did. And their resilience they’ve channeled this season was put on display yet again in their Game 3 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night — one that pushed Indiana into the second round for the first time since 2015.
The game was a tight one, but the Dream held the upper hand for much of it. With about eight minutes to go in the second quarter, Naz Hillmon hit a three, tying the game at 33. Atlanta wouldn’t trail again until deep into the fourth quarter.
The Fever were fighting from behind, and they just could not grab the lead. Even during their small runs, they remained behind by a handful of points. They stayed focused, but the Dream were simply playing better. It would take a herculean showing to escape the Gateway Center Arena at College Park with a win.
With 3:21 to go in the fourth quarter, the pressure ramped up. Brianna Turner tied the game at 80 with a putback layup and Indiana was in the middle of a mini 5-0 burst. The next 200 seconds were going to decide the series. But that stretch began in disaster — Brionna Jones and Rhyne Howard scored five points in under one minute, putting Atlanta back in the lead.
A deficit formed. It was still a five-point game, but the obstacle felt huge. Momentum was on the Dream’s side.
But the Indiana Fever are in the middle of a season filled with moments exactly like this. They have their backs against the wall and the only way out is strong, collected play on the hardwood. The how and the who isn’t important and doesn’t matter; they just need to rise up as a group.
It started, as it usually does, with Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston linking up for two points. The Fever forced a shot clock violation. Lexie Hull took it to the cup a few trips later to cut the score to one, and Indiana got the ball after a stop.
It was 85-84 Dream with 25 seconds remaining. Odyssey Sims, in the middle of a broken play, kept her head up to dime up Boston under the basket. Suddenly, Indiana led 86-85 with seven seconds left. It was their first edge in the second half.
Their resilience was on display yet again, and Hull came away with the steal in the final second to effectively seal the game. Atlanta didn’t score in the final 2:32 of play. The Fever held on for a victory, and the final minutes were headlined by big players from Turner, Hull, Sims, Mitchell, Boston, and a defensive rep from Shey Peddy. It was total team resilience, as it’s been all season.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
“This group is just really special. We say it pretty much ad nauseam, but it’s the resilience, the flexibility, the welcoming and inclusive nature of this team, their selflessness to pull for the we over the me, the ability to let each teammate be who they are and shine at their best and to lift them up. In those moments, that’s good for 12 to 15 points. It is,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said postgame. “And you couple that with the resilience, the toughness, the grit, the fight, the scrappiness, and you always give yourself a chance. I love riding with these guys. I love coaching them, and I’m just so incredibly proud of them.”
It was a remarkable win, and it was a microcosm of the Fever’s entire season. They were pushed to the edge and it took everyone on the roster to fight back. The stars were stars, as usual — Mitchell and Boston are having exceptional seasons. But every starter scored in double figures, every bench player scored, and the team had just six turnovers in total.
The win took everyone, but they were all determined and effective late. “This group has been through every situation imaginable. And we knew that we just had to keep it tight. We knew we had to get stops. And I felt like for a long period of time we were getting stops and then not getting scores,” White said of her team’s play late in the game. “It just takes a couple breaks to go your way.”
In the end, resilience built over a full season of challenges was the difference in the Fever vs Dream series. When Indiana was at their worst, there was no hanging heads or finger pointing. They were always ready for the next play, and that’s how they earned a playoff series victory for the first time since 2015.
Postgame, the Fever showed how they get their resiliency while hardly saying a word. White, sitting on the podium in between Mitchell and Natasha Howard, held back tears as she described her team’s mental state. She did so again when the two players gushed about her coaching. Howard described the role she’s played in being a leader and was out of words when explaining how her team keeps succeeding. She wasn’t shocked; rather, in a state of combined exhilaration and pride. It silenced her, but didn’t remove her smile.
That attitude and leadership is what the Fever hoped their vets could add. Howard and Mitchell have played well this season, but their leadership has been more important. The front office in Indianapolis was very intentional about adding experienced veterans in the offseason, and it has paid off in the team’s durability.
Of course, the additions and talent also plays well on the court. To beat Atlanta on Thursday, Mitchell had to score 24 points. Boston had a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. Sims had eight dimes. Makayla Timpson, Turner, and Howard rocked the boards. Those numbers all show up in a box score.
Resiliency, by contrast, isn’t calculable. It doesn’t need to be. The Indiana Fever have it, and they have a series win for the first time since 2015 as a result.
They’ll play the Las Vegas Aces in round two, a tougher test. But it’s one they’ve passed this season — albeit before the Aces won 16 games in a row to close the regular season.
Beating them will be a huge challenge. But the whole Indiana Fever season has been about overcoming them.
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