Indiana Fever has managed to force a third WNBA Playoff game after their 77-60 home win over Atlanta Dream.
They knew that a loss ended their chance to stay in contention and they made sure to take another step forward. Looking ahead to the next game, where one of the two teams will be eliminated, Fever coach Stephanie White had a strong message.
White’s words
Indiana played its first game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the playoffs since 2016 and came out with one more player on the court: its home crowd. Fever led from the hand of Kelsey Mitchell, who in 29 minutes of play totaled 19 points, four assists, two steals and a block. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard were the other two players who scored in double digits with 15 and 12 points respectively.
In this way, White’s team opened the way to the third and final game of the best-of-three series. After the victory and looking forward to the next match, the 48-year-old coach talked to the press and showed great confidence in the team:
“This is a group that’s confidence never really wavered. We’ve been in every kind of situation you can imagine, and we’ve been able to find ways to put ourselves in a position to win,” Stephanie began.
The truth is that the team has been hit by the absence of six players: Damiris Dantas, Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, Chloe Bibby and Caitlin Clark. In addition, all of them will miss the rest of the season except Dantas, who remains out of the team due to the contusion protocol, being the only one of them with a chance to return to the game.
Meanwhile, in his speech, White said that unlike the home game, they have to return to the Gateway Center where they lost in the first game of Playoffs 80-68, but that is not a problem for Fever:
[Game 3] will be no different. Obviously, it’s going to be on the opponents’ home floor, but it doesn’t matter. For us, if we maintain our attention to detail, if we continue the defensive effort that we had tonight, and we shoot with confidence, we give ourselves a chance. This group has continued to show their heart, their character night in and night out.
With these words, Stephanie White does not underestimate her opponent, but she makes evident the confidence placed in the team. Now, they are getting ready to face Dream next Thursday, September 18, to advance to the next round of the Playoffs.
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