INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever finally got a chance to celebrate in the WNBA playoffs Thursday night.
Star guard Caitlin Clark, dressed again in street clothes but smiling, rushed the court to hug her teammates as they celebrated a road win. The tone in coach Stephanie White’s voice changed between the first two questions of her postgame news conference. And three-time WNBA All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell recounted the journey here, to her first appearance in the league semifinals — and one nobody saw coming just a few weeks ago.
Yes, this team defied the odds by playing their way: with grit, resilience and an uncanny ability to adapt to any obstacle that threatened to derail its postseason aspirations.
“I’ve had so many coaches in eight years, I’ve been on the worst record teams in the Indiana Fever (history), so I know where my career started at,” Mitchell said after the sixth-seeded Fever rallied in the final minute to beat the third-seeded Atlanta Dream 87-85 in a decisive Game 3 on Thursday in College Park, Georgia.
“I know what I’ve had to go through to kind of be in this position,” Mitchell added, “and I’ve never had a coach that poured into me respectfully, like Steph has. I’ve never felt that as a pro.”