The Indiana Fever wrapped up their preseason slate with an 81-76 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Saturday afternoon, with the team appearing to be ready to go for the start of the 2025 WNBA campaign. And yet, while the Fever picked up the win, head coach Stephanie White revealed afterwards that there was still one key development from this contest that left her “disappointed.”
While Indiana was simply looking to use this contest to get ready for the start of their new season, the team obviously wanted to win and work on several areas in order to prepare them for what they hope is a successful season. And while the Fever eventually put the Dream away, it certainly was not easy, and there appears to have been one big issue that emerged in the first half that caught White’s attention.
Stephanie White Not Happy with Fever’s 10 First Half Turnovers
For the most part, Indiana put together a strong outing against Atlanta. They had a balanced scoring attack, as Lexie Hull led the way with 14 points, followed by Caitlin Clark’s 13 and Kelsey Mitchell’s 12. Defensively, they stifled the Dream, as they shot just 33.8% from the field. The problem was that, in the first half, the Fever were turning the ball over so much that it didn’t matter what they did on offense.
Indiana committed 10 turnovers in the first half, allowing Atlanta to stay in the game trail by only two points heading into halftime. It wasn’t really a one-person issue, as five different players committed multiple turnovers by the time the final buzzer sounded. It ultimately didn’t come back to bite the Fever in this one, but it’s the sort of issue that White is looking to eliminate in her first year back with the team after she previously coached them back in 2015 and 2016.
If the Fever are looking to take a step forward this season, they need to cut out these sorts of small mistakes. That’s why after the game, White hammered home the turnover issue, labeling herself as “disappointed” with her team’s carelessness in the first half, even though they ultimately went on to win the game.
“I was disappointed that we had 10 first half turnovers,” White bluntly remarked after the game, per Sara Jane Gamelli of Ballislife.com. “A lot of them were trying to force things that weren’t there. We did a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Stephanie White, Fever Ready for Start of 2025 Campaign
Joe Buglewicz/Getty Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts as they play the Connecticut Sun during the fourth quarter of Game Two of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs first round at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 25, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
With this win over the Dream, the Fever finished their preseason slate a perfect 3-0, setting themselves up nicely for the 2025 season. After finding their way into the postseason last year, Indiana is expected to take a step forward in their second season with Clark leading the way at the point guard position. However, the entire team is going to have to improve if they intend on winning a title when all is said and done.
Now, every game from here on out counts. The Fever will kick off their 2025 campaign on Saturday, May 17 against the Chicago Sky, with tip-off being scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Stephanie White’s ‘Disappointed’ Message to Fever After Preseason Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.