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WNBA Indiana Fever

Fever Hope to Learn, Bounce Back from Playoff Opener

September 22, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


Coming off the court from their largest single-game postseason loss in franchise history, Indiana Fever players and coaches didn't make excuses at the podium.

Instead, the Fever (0-1) used words like "accountability" and "aggressiveness" to describe their points of emphasis heading into Wednesday's must-win matchup with the Connecticut Sun (1-0), keeping the tone urgent but confident.

The sixth-seeded Fever dropped their first-round playoff opener to the Sun 93-69 on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena, five points more than their previous franchise-worst postseason losses of 19 points to Detroit in 2008 and New York in 2002. Including the regular season, Indiana is 1-4 against Connecticut in 2024.

Despite the lopsided loss, the Fever believe they have the talent to push the best-of-three series to two more games after instantly identifying their areas of weakness in Game 1.

"We can win," Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. "It's not anything about the building. It's not about the gym. It's not about the hoops. Like I have all the confidence in the world, in this team, and everybody in our locker room does. I know we'll be a lot better on Wednesday."

Indiana matched the Sun's play for much of Game 1, trailing by single digits after the first quarter (23-22) and at half (46-38) before the Sun built an 11-point buffer heading into the final frame.

Thanks to a triple-double by Sun star Alyssa Thomas, the 15th of her career, and an all-time performance by Marina Mabrey (27 points, the most ever by a WNBA player from the bench in the playoffs), the Fever could never surmount the deficit in the final minutes.

The Fever, who averaged 85 points per game during the regular season, shot an uncharacteristic 40.3 percent as a team in Game 1, including 21.4 percent from 3-point range, while getting outrebounded 36-29 and outscored 50-36 in the paint. Veteran guard Kesley Mitchell led the Fever with 21 points, Clark chipped in 11 points and eight assists, and Aliyah Boston recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds.

While the up-and-coming Fever have made waves this summer, finishing the season 20-20 after starting the regular season 1-8, the team's inexperience in the playoffs showed at times in Game 1. Indiana entered the playoffs with 19 postseason games combined between four players, while the Sun had 222 combined playoff games under their belt for their roster.

Postgame, Fever coach Christie Sides, Clark and Mitchell, said the team needs to stay active on the defensive side of the court and that they will bounce back from their poor shooting night, attributing the low number to missing wide-open shots.

"This is playoff basketball, you know. And we've got to be able to handle when it gets chaotic," Sides said. "We've got to be able to handle it...We had some great looks. We had some great looks, both in transition and also in the half court. So, you know, like Kelsey said, my gosh, we're gonna figure it out, and we've got another opportunity on Wednesday to come back and then take this thing home."

History may be on the Fever's side going into Game 2.

With Sunday's loss, Indiana dropped to 0-4 all-time against the Sun in Game 1s of the postseason. However, Indiana has come back twice (2007 and 2012) to win those series after being swept 2-0 in 2005.

Over the next few days, Mitchell said the team will stay confident and focused on the task at hand.

"I think it starts with accountability first," Mitchell said. "I think we all individually know that we could have done better, but I think confidence doesn't waver. I don't think you just drop off because it didn't go our way. I think this is a game that...has imperfections, and I think that for us, we dropped the ball. We just didn't play well. We didn't do well enough to win at least. And I think going forward, you keep your confidence. You take accountability as a player and as a team, and look forward to Wednesday."

If the Fever beat the Sun on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, they will host the Sun for a winner-take-all game three on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

"They're a really good team with a lot of experience, and they know what it takes to step up to that next level, that playoff level, and that's what we're going to be, and that's who we are going to become," Sides said. "They made it really difficult, and we've got to close that gap."

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