The Minnesota Lynx, currently the best team in the league, handed the Indiana Fever their sixth loss in the last eight games, 97-84.
That second consecutive loss also caused Stephanie White’s team to drop from sixth to eighth place in the WNBA with a record of 19-18. And the 48-year-old coach shared her opinion.
Stephanie White’s words after the Fever’s defeat
After winning three consecutive games and improving their record to 20-18, the Seattle Storm moved into sixth place in the league standings.
In seventh place are the Golden State Valkyries after two consecutive victories. And although they are tied with Indiana at 19-18, they dominate the tiebreaker.
On the other hand, the Fever cannot afford to overlook the Los Angeles Sparks, who are hot on their heels in ninth place. They are one game away from them and are going for eighth place in the playoffs. Both teams will face each other next Friday, the 29th, at Crypto.com Arena in a decisive match.
Despite this, Indiana’s head coach remained calm and conveyed this calmness to fans and the press after the game, shifting the focus from their playoff spot to their next game:
“I think for us, we got to focus on one day at a time. We have to control what we can control, and that’s our next opponent, right? That’s going to be Seattle coming to our place, which is a big one. It’s a big one,” White said after Sunday’s loss.
With Seattle half a game behind them, Indiana will have to fight for victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday, August 26, to overtake them and move up in the WNBA standings.
The two teams have played two games, with the Fever winning both. Previously, on June 24, Indiana won 94-86. The last time they met, on August 1, the Fever again defeated the Storm 78-74 in Seattle, and this is exactly what White wants to achieve: a third victory.
However, regarding their playoff position, Stephanie said, “You can’t get caught looking at that stuff,” and that they need to set short-term goals: “We got to stay locked in on what we have to do and be where our feet are and take care of what’s in front of us.“
With only seven games remaining, it will be interesting to see how this story unfolds.
Read the full article here
