The Indiana Fever was finally back with on track with a rejuvenated outlook and a revamped energy in the roster. They sailed past the opponents with a two-win streak in their belt despite Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham on the bench. In fact, even head coach Stephanie White’s absence did not affect the roster as the unstoppable team snatched a massive 79-52 win from the Chicago Sky. But the storybook run came to a halt again. The streak was broken as they shrank to a 19-point loss.
Fireworks were bound to happen as the third team on the Eastern Conference Standings locked horns with the No. 2 team at the Gateway Center arena. Dream athletes Brittney Griner, Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones, and Alisha Gray dominated the home ground and sent Indiana Fever with a crushing 58-77 blow. Despite a good season so far, things have started to look bleak for the Fever. The team stands with more losses in their belt now.
Pointing at the grave situation of the Fever’s locker room, national analyst Rachel DeMita had a word of caution for HC White after a crushing defeat. “Unfortunately, they’re digging themselves a little bit of a hole with the losses that they are racking up at the beginning of the season,” Rachel DeMita said. She referred to Fever locker room and said that the team is doing themselves a disservice by accumulating a pile of losses this early in the season.
Caitlin Clark was sidelined owing to a left quad injury while Sophie Cunningham had suffered an ankle injury. While Kelsey Mitchell, Lexi Hull, Aari McDonald, and others have stepped up to give a smooth kickstart to the roster once Clark returns, the task seems challenging for the roster. While Fever has struggled with offensive tackles in the absence of their star player, they could have build more on the defences, as pointed out by DeMita.
“Yes, Caitlin’s still out. Yes, Sophie is still out. It will be different when both of them come back,” the analyst said. “They will contribute and help this team to do better. But I wish that some of the players could just go out there and hoop. Like, obviously you run your offensive schemes, you run your defensive schemes, you make adjustments in game.”
For head coach Stephanie White, the challenge goes beyond waiting for her stars to return. With a roster featuring veterans like DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard, White must find ways to counter teams like the Dream, who use their size to dominate.
With a total of five losses, it will be difficult for the roster to climb the ladder even if Clark and Cunningham rejoin the active roster.
And though guard McDonald did try to bring some respite to the roster and clinch two wins, the collective could not fight the physicality of their opponents. And Atlanta Dream did just that. In game three of four, the Dream heavily used their size to get away as Fever found it difficult to create opportunities in the paint.
Despite clawing back in the second quarter with a 3-point lead, the team managed only 9-23 in the third quarter against Atlanta Dream. And though Clark’s return might bring a ray of hope for the roster, how will they manage to bridge the 5-game loss? And if they want to clinch the title this season, the team needs another winning streak. That also means avenging the 19-point loss in the last game against the Dream.
Aliyah Boston creates history despite Fever’s loss to Atlanta Dream
The Indiana Fever was in for a loss at the hands of Atlanta Dream. Again. And guess what! It was the same issue that head coach Stephanie White had highlighted when Fever first faced the Dream. The Dream took advantage of the undersized Fever roster. They used their physicality against the players till they received what they had been aiming for. A whopping 77-58 victory.
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: Kentucky at South Carolina, Jan 9, 2022 Columbia, South Carolina, USA South Carolina Gamecocks forward Aliyah Boston 4 is congratulated after exiting the game against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports, 09.01.2022 14:40:33, 17478585, South Carolina Gamecocks, Kentucky Wildcats, Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina, NCAA Womens Basketball PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffxBlakex 17478585
But every cloud has a silver lining. Despite a crushing defeat, the Fever had found a reason to celebrate in Aliyah Boston. The player created history as she dived in to aid Kelsey Mitchell achieve a 17-footer shot in the third quarter. This fifth assist by Boston during the game marked a career milestone for the athlete.
Surprisingly, Boston had managed to achieved her 250th dime of the career on Tuesday. Well, if this wasn’t enough, the athlete also became the second-fastest center to achieve the number. Boston reached the mark in just 89 matches. And while Phoenix Mercury athlete, Alyssa Thomas has been the leading scorer in the assists department this season, she too did not clinch the 25oth mark until her 95th match.
Needless to say, the fastest athlete to have secured the mark is none other than Caitlin Clark. The 2024 ROTY achieved the mark within just 31 games. However, as a centre position in the Fever’s roster, Boston’s mark comes as an astonishing revelation about the adaptive nature of the league. And as the Indiana Fever waits for the superstar to rejoin the roster, will they manage the bag of losses that keep piling up in her absence? Guess we’ll have to wait and watch.
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