INDIANAPOLIS— This week there has been a lot of noise around the fever. Virtually none of it has had to do with the product on the court.
In a world driven by social media, the fever will live under the microscope as long as Caitlin Clark plies her trade in Indianapolis. This week provided the ultimate stress test for the organization, with many voices echoing after a crushing loss to the Fire, which included a dispute between Clark and head coach Stephanie White during a timeout that went viral.
A week of reflection and downplaying the situation led to a showdown with one of the league’s best teams in the Dream on Thursday. What followed was a remarkably quiet, if much-needed, victory. Indiana controlled the game, save for a stretch early in the second half, and secured a comfortable victory to open Commissioner’s Cup play.
The situation was a test of the team’s culture, and the response came on the field.
“It’s been a lot,” Kelsey Mitchell admitted of the noise around the team after the game. “I think it speaks to culture. I think about the last few days, from our last day in Portland, from the moment we got on a plane as a group, our energy changed as a group. I think our culture constantly made changes and I think when we have difficult conversations as a group, we engage with each other, we have days like this because we really engage.
“We did the job the right way. Kudos to our team for not giving in to what the social media world had to say about us… For us, it was about using this week for the right things. Culture is how teams win. I think talent gets us there, but I think team camaraderie and just being honest about where we are as a group keeps us there.”
Mitchell was instrumental in not only building the team’s culture, but also in Thursday’s victory. Indiana entered the locker room up 38-29 after controlling the first half, but then gave up a 14-4 run to open the second half that saw them lose 43-42.
In response, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Mitchell scored in a 44-second span to put Indiana back ahead for good. That was also the start of a heater for Mitchell that saw her score 11 straight points for the Fever, capped off with a pull-up three in transition to extend Indiana’s lead to double digits.
Mitchell finished the game with 25 points on 11-15 shooting overall. It was his fifth 20-point game in the first nine games. He’s averaging a career-best 21.1 points per game, and he’s also doing it with his best efficiency from the field (48.6%).
“I just think about letting the game flow,” Mitchell said of the key to his strong offensive start this year. “On the one hand, you have to love it and appreciate what the game offers. I think I just try to stick with that approach… but I think we, as a team, are constantly growing. So I’m only as good as the people around me. We’re in a position where everyone can eat on our team, and I think I just want to be ready when my number is called.”
The performance came after Mitchell also set the tone for the team during practice. After the crushing loss to Portland last Saturday, Indiana held a team meeting on Monday to air things out. The team responded in practice and then did so when it really mattered.
“I thought everyone did a really good job of, one, setting the tone, because Kelsey’s pace all week has been great, and two, holding each other accountable for that,” White said. “When you do it that way consistently, I mean, we had two good days of practice doing it that way, it carries over.
“When you pour energy, if you’re struggling, if you’re not making shots, if you’re not in rotation, instead of bitching and complaining, when you pour that energy into the team, and when you pour that energy into lifting each other up, someone sees you struggling and gives you a pat on the back. I mean, all of that matters. All of that matters and we have to continue to grow in that area.”
Noise will always exist in some form around fever. The best thing they can do is calm things down with a performance like Thursday’s. Still, it seems like a bad game or a viral video could call everything into question again.
But what Fever proved on Thursday is that when those times come, they have the culture and camaraderie to weather the storm and still come out ahead.