The Indian Fever rode high after defeating the Minnesota Lynx to claim their first Commissioner’s Cup. Despite not having Caitlin Clark due to an injury, the Fever won their next matchup against the Las Vegas Aces in a lopsided 81-54 victory.
Unfortunately, they faltered in their recent matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Fever had a four-point lead with less than two minutes left in the game, but some clutch play by Rickea Jackson and Azura Stevens helped the Sparks win by a point.
Analyst Criticizes Fever Coach Stephanie White for Late-Game Decision
Controversial analyst Jason Whitlock, who has often been critical of the Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White, shared a question on the social media platform X: “Why was Howard out of the game on the last offensive possessions? 8 of 11 from the field,” Whitlock inquired.
Why was Howard out of the game on the last offensive possessions? 8 of 11 from the field
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 6, 2025
With 3.1 seconds left in the game, Aari McDonald fouled Stevens after Lexie Hull missed a seven-foot jumper that could’ve scored 89-88 in the Fever’s favor. Stevens made the first throw but missed the second, and Aliyah Boston secured the defensive rebound, eliciting a timeout from the Fever.
At this juncture, White made a crucial decision by removing Natasha Howard from the lineup for Hull, who Howard had earlier replaced after Stevens made the first free throw.
What Whitlock pointed out makes sense. Howard was the star performer on the Fevers, notching a team-high 21 points, three assists, and nine rebounds, three of which were offensive.
She was eight for 11 from the field, one for two from the three-point line, and two for four from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Hull was two for four from the field and one for two from the three-point line.
Was White wrong, as Whitlock insinuated? Notably, Boston missed a twenty-one-foot jump shot, ending the game 89-88 in Sparks’ favor. Would Howard have been the player to take the clutch shot had she been on the court? It’s undoubtedly a maybe.
Coach White said the Fever lost the game for multiple reasons. She shared what went wrong during the post-game interview.
“I feel a couple things. One, um, sometimes we’re late at the point. Um, we’re not moving when the ball moves or moving when our player moves. And so that unnecessarily puts us in rotation,” White said.
She pointed out that the Fever players were anxious about defense. Instead of being in front of the opponent and making them take tough shots, they wanted to finish the play with a block or a late slide. This resulted in a lot of fouling, which eventually led to their loss.
“We just have to live with knowing that great players are going to make really good plays and don’t bail them out by fouling. Um, maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll miss. Um, but there’s a lot of things that go into that,” White added.
With the loss, the Fever splits wins and losses in 19 games, standing seventh in the WNBA standings. Up next for them is a matchup against the Golden State Valkyries, who stand a spot above, on Wednesday.
