The Indiana Fever‘s heartbreaking 91-90 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night offered more than just a close contest, it exposed deeper concerns shared by head coach Stephanie White and her WNBA colleagues.
Despite a standout performance by Caitlin Clark, who tallied 27 points and 11 assists, the Fever fell short in a game marked by turnovers, lack of cohesion, and costly defensive lapses.
And in the aftermath, the 47-year-old didn’t just address her own team’s execution. She widened the scope of criticism, highlighting a troubling trend perceived to be affecting all 13 WNBA coaches this season.
“It’s tough, you know,” White told reporters. “It’s every coach’s frustration when you have to use challenges on out-of-bounds plays.
“I mean, it is what it is. But for teams to win three challenges in the first half, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that either.”
Once again, the topic of WNBA referees and their standards is at the front of the discussion about women’s basketball, this time centered around their judgement when it comes to optical vision rather than their interpretation of the rules.
Fever’s growing pains exposed vs Dream
The game exposed clear weaknesses within the Fever lineup, despite Clark’s offensive production as she became the first player to produce more than five games of 25 points and 10 assists.
Indiana struggled to play as a cohesive unit and turnovers mounted, running up to 14 in total as the players struggled to connect with those around them, including Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
Subsequently, Atlanta’s defense capitalized on these errors, using speed, physicality, and timely shooting to steal the win and Clark‘s coach didn’t shy away from pointing out the team’s lackluster start.
“It started with our energy and on the defensive end of the floor,” White told press. “We were flat to start.
“We dug ourselves a hole. We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t handle their physicality, I mean that’s going to be the M.O. against us all year long.”
With players such as DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham, Natasha Howard, and Mitchell on the roster, the Fever are expected to handle tougher competition if they aim to win a first championship since 2012.
However, physical mismatches could become a persistent weakness opponents may exploit throughout the season and Atlanta’s Brionna Jones proved this point, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
But the season isn’t without promise. Bonner’s presence continues to add veteran leadership to the team. In the season opener against the Chicago Sky, she surpassed Tina Thompson to become the WNBA’s third all-time leading scorer with 7,489 points.
The moment came in the fourth quarter when she was fouled and made her free throw, cementing her place in league history.
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