Stephanie White fought back tears as she sat on stage with guard Kelsey Mitchell, listening as the longest-tenured Indiana Fever player thoughtfully reflected on the impact her head coach has had on her career.
Mitchell’s career began in the dark ages of Fever basketball. Selected second overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft, she endured six consecutive losing seasons with six wins or fewer in four of her first five, and has played for five different head coaches during her eight-year tenure.
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“I know where my career started at (and) I know what I’ve had to go through to be in this position,” Mitchell said following Thursday’s improbable 87-85 series-clinching Game 3 win over the Atlanta Dream.
And for the first time in her career, she feels valued, not only as a player, but as a person.
“I’ve never had a coach who poured into me, respectfully, like Steph has,” said Mitchell, who led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
“I love Steph, because she gave me an opportunity to be who I am,” she continued, placing her hand on White’s arm. “It’s hard to do that and be that as a professional athlete, and when you find a coach who believes in you — never take it for granted. Thank you, Coach.”
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What White has done with the 2025 Indiana Fever is remarkable.
They have five players sidelined with season-ending injuries: Superstar Caitlin Clark (groin) has not played since July 15, while the other four went down over a two-week stretch in August: Sydney Colson (ACL) and Aari McDonald (foot) at Phoenix on Aug. 7, Sophie Cunningham (MCL) at Connecticut on Aug. 22 and Chloe Bibby (knee) on Aug. 22.
Those injuries forced Indiana to utilize nine different starting lineups during the regular season, none played more than nine games together during the regular season (Aliyah Boston, Howard, Lexie Hull, Mitchell and Odyssey Sims should make their 13th consecutive start Sunday).
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There were points during the past month-and-a-half when it seemed like this team would crack, understandably overwhelmed by the physical and mental toll of their situation, not to mention the revolving door of hardship additions and constant lineup shuffling.
But the drop-off never occurred; the bottom never fell out.
Indiana stayed the course, continually overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, including Thursday when they closed on a 7-0 run over the final 2:05 (5-0 in the last 43.1 seconds) to stun the Dream and advance to the WNBA semifinals.
“(White) is built for big moments like this,” Hull said. “To have someone leading the charge who has the experience and knows what it takes, but also has that fire within them — we learn a lot from her everyday.”
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It’s quite obvious — and has been for some time — that the players’ trust in White has never wavered. They’re fully bought into her as a coach and her emphasis on being ready to contribute at all times.
When forced to play point guard for a few games earlier this season, Mitchell credited White with giving her the confidence to play out of position as necessary.
Brianna Turner — who was excellent in three games vs. Atlanta — was buried in the rotation midway through the season, but she logged significant minutes at Connecticut, playing a key role defensively as the Fever stormed back from a 20-point deficit en route to a season-saving overtime win.
“That’s one thing I love about Steph, how she believes in every single person and trusts us no matter what,” forward Natasha Howard said. “She pours into every single person on this team.”
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Based on everything they’ve been through, the Indiana Fever probably should not still be playing basketball.
And yet here they are, three wins away from a spot in the WNBA Finals.
“She doesn’t get enough credit for what she’s been able to do with us. It’s not easy to coach a mix of however many players we’ve had on the court and get a product out there like we have,” Hull said.
“So many people didn’t expect us to be here, but Steph’s leading the charge,” Hull continued. “We believe in her. She believes in us. And to be able to have this full-circle moment is awesome.”
The Indiana Fever will travel to Las Vegas for Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals at 3 p.m. Sunday (ABC).
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Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has team in WNBA playoffs semifinals
