Fever eye statement win, $500K prize money in Commissioner's Cup Final at Lynx
The Fever are playing for more than just money — it's a test of growth, depth and resilience as they face the league’s best team on the road.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever are playing for a championship on Tuesday night.
No, it’s not a WNBA title — but for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2015, it’s everything.
“It's a gut check to see who we are and what we need and how we need to be to make the playoff run,” said guard Kelsey Mitchell. “It’s about taking this opportunity and not just tricking it off and just kind of be prepared for the moment.”
Mitchell and other players emphasized the importance of being locked in and approaching the game with the right mindset.
“You've got to respect the fact that you're there,” she added. “You've got to do right by it.”
Back in 2015, Natasha Howard was in her second season, Briann January was the point guard, and Stephanie White was the head coach.
White is back as head coach, Howard returned this season, and January is now an assistant coach.
This is an opportunity for a team that hasn’t experienced big-game wins — not together, at least.
“With something on the line, everyone feels it,” Lexie Hull said before morning shootaround. “The arena's going to be electric because of that.
“Everyone knows the stakes of the game and I think we're just going to lean on each other to try to treat this game as normal as possible — don't get too high, don’t get too low throughout the course of the game because it's a long game. We're each going to have our runs, but hopefully by the end, our work will show and it'll be good.”
It doesn’t get more difficult than facing the Minnesota Lynx, who have a league-best 14-2 record, including 8-0 at home.