Fever Coach Addresses Big Concern Before Aces Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Indiana Fever have been riding high since beating the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 to win the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night.
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Playing without superstar guard Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s defense stepped up to shut down Minnesota’s MVP candidate Napheesa Collier (12 points on 6-for-18 shooting, five turnovers).
The Fever got double-doubles from All-Star starter Aliyah Boston (12 points, 11 rebounds) and game MVP Natasha Howard (16 points, 12 rebounds) in what was the most impressive win in the eight games they’ve played without Clark this season.
After earning the $500,000 prize and setting social media on fire with their locker room celebrations, head coach Stephanie White answered a reporter’s question concerning a possible letdown ahead of Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces.
Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White is determined to keep her squad on the winning route after the Commissioner’s Cup victory.Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“That was great, that was awesome, that was a goal of ours,” White told her players at a Wednesday film session. “But now it’s over and it doesn’t mean anything any more.”
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Although the players’ prize money for the Commissioner’s Cup is more than the payout for a WNBA Finals win, the win does not even count in the standings.
Minnesota still leads the league with a 14-2 record, while Indiana is back to the reality of being an 8-8 team without its best player heading into a matchup with reigning league MVP A’ja Wilson and the Aces.
“Now we’ve got to build off the really good things that we did, continue to build consistency, continue to stack days,” White said. “We’ve got to refocus. We can’t have a letdown after an exciting high.”
The Fever and Aces already met once this season, an 89-81 comeback win for the Aces in Las Vegas. White had Clark at her disposal in that game, but even without her, the Fever coach believes they have improved since the June 22 defeat.
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“I think we’re a better defensive team today when we were the last time we played them even though it wasn’t very long ago,” she asserted. “Sophie (Cunningham) is back to moving the way she is capable of moving, certainly adding Aari (McDonald) was huge for us. We know what we have to do, we just have to execute and do it consistently.”
Related: Caitlin Clark Issues Demand to WNBA Commissioner
Related: Ranking the 25 Best WNBA Players of All Time
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
