The Indiana Fever pulled off an incredible comeback in the deciding Game 3 of their first-round series with the Atlanta Dream to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015 and become the first lower seed to a win a first-round series since the league changed the playoff format in 2022.
This has been an extremely difficult season for the Fever, who entered with championship expectations, but had to scratch and claw their way to a playoff spot after losing five players, including Caitlin Clark, to season-ending injuries. They have refused to give up at any point, though, and all of the adversity has formed an incredible bond between everyone in the locker room.
Coach Stephanie White’s emotional post-game speech in Atlanta on Thursday offered a glimpse into what this team has been through and why this postseason run means so much to them.
Here is White’s speech in full:
“Y’all are a tough bunch. I mean, I cannot even put into words how proud I am of you. The toughness that it takes, the gut-checks that it takes, like y’all, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because we’ve been through all of it, right? So it doesn’t matter the circumstance, it doesn’t matter the score, it doesn’t matter the time. You always put your best foot forward. You always get to the next play. And it’s always someone different. Collectively, all the time.
“[Odyssey Sims], great f—ing pass!
“Lexie [Hull], way to be!
“Sixteen points in the paint in the second half. Our defense decided to show up.
“I am so f—ing proud that we live to fight another day.”
The Fever trailed for the majority of Game 3, and went down by five with 2:32 to play. They held the Dream scoreless the rest of the way, however, and closed the game on a 7-0 run. Aliyah Boston scored the go-ahead bucket with 7.4 seconds remaining and Lexie Hull picked off the ensuing inbounds pass. Odyssey Sims then missed one of two free throws, which made the Dream’s final possession more nerve-wracking than it should have been, but Brionna Jones’ prayer at the buzzer didn’t come close and the Fever escaped.
Without Clark and so many other key players, the Fever are going to have their hands full in the semis against an Aces team that has won 18 of its last 19 games. But if the last few weeks have shown us anything, the Fever are not going down without a fight.