After two consecutive years of first picks who went on to win the Rookie of the Year, no one really had Indiana Fever circled in red for the 2025 WNBA Draft. I mean, two second-round picks and one in the third? Expectations weren’t exactly sky high. But the Fever had their sights set on defense, and they weren’t shy about it. “The most important thing for us was defensive versatility,” head coach Stephanie White said. And to chase that vision, they brought in three rookies—Makayla Timpson, Bree Hall, and Yvonne Ejim. All three, built like defensive blueprints. So while others were sleeping on this class, Indiana was cooking something they didn’t even realize would be this good.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen clips all over social media. These rookies grinding it out with the veterans, learning the ropes, and looking ready for the leap. And then, the preseason opener arrived. Caitlin Clark was missing, but that didn’t stop the Fever from showing up and showing out.
They faced Washington Mystics, things got tight, leads changed back and forth, and then Sophie Cunningham decided to take matters into her own hands. Her 21 points led all scorers. Lexie Hull chipped in 13 from the bench, Natasha Howard added 11 as a starter. It was a dogfight that went into overtime, but Indiana walked away with a 79-74 win.
In that thriller, with just 3:46 left in the fourth, Makayla Timpson finally got her shot on the floor. In just 9 minutes, Timpson put up four points and grabbed two rebounds—making every second count. Coach White couldn’t stop smiling, literally. “I just smile every time she’s on the floor– and just see some of the things that she does, that you can’t teach. I thought she played with great pace. I thought she looked really good.”
Stephanie White on rookie Makayla Timpson:
“I just smile every time she’s on the floor– and just see some of the things that she does, that you can’t teach. I thought she played with great pace. I thought she looked really good.”
— Sara Jane Gamelli (@SaraJGamelli) May 3, 2025
But we kinda saw this coming. The 22-year-old didn’t just show up out of nowhere. At Florida State, she was rewriting history. She racked up 1,094 rebounds in four seasons, breaking none other than Natasha Howard’s school record. And now, they’re teammates. Full-circle magic, right there. Fever GM Amber Cox wasn’t bluffing when she called her a “defensive powerhouse.”
But while Timpson was living her best debut dreams, another rookie out of Dawn Staley’s Daycare had a very different night. The 20th overall pick, Bree hall, didn’t see a single minute of action. Not even in overtime. Her fellow rookies got their shot, fans were scratching their heads, and social media wasn’t holding back either.
Hall isn’t your flashy box-score player, but she’s a certified defensive gem. Two-time NCAA champ with South Carolina, and if you’ve seen athletes coached by Staley, you know you’re made of something tough. Hall’s entire college career was spent guarding the best scorer on the other team.
But maybe it’s just one game. Although it is unlikely that she will be on the roster, there’s still one preseason game left. Indiana can only carry 11 players. Ten are already under contract. And with only about $112k left in cap space, the math is getting difficult. According to Her Hoop Stats, both Timpson and Hall would make over $69k if they make the final roster, while Ejim’s rookie salary comes in just under at $66k. So some tough calls are on the way.
For now, we are hoping that Hall gets her shot in the next preseason game, which by the at Clark’s alma-mater.
Stephanie White shares a concern for next preseason game
Caitlin Clark’s epic homecoming at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. All 15,000 tickets were gone in under 45 minutes. You can imagine how exciting Sunday’s clash with Brazil is gonna be. After all, it’s the same arena where she dropped a historic 3,951 points—the most in NCAA Division I history.
“I honestly haven’t been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago,” Clark shared. “I’ve only been back a couple times, once for a football game and once for my jersey retirement. So, it’ll be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, my friends that are there. A lot of my family will be coming.”
But you know what’s not fun? The heat. Stephanie White sounded the alarm: “I anticipate it being a little crazy. I think it’s gonna be exciting… I didn’t know there’s no air conditioning. So yeah, we’re gonna have to work through that and make sure we stay hydrated. But what an experience for those fans.” Clark also echoed that with a bit of a laugh, “I warned everybody, like, there’s no air conditioning in Carver-Hawkeye, and usually they don’t play basketball games there in May.”
She hoped it stays a little cool in there. “We’ll see how it goes. Might be a little toasty,” she joked. And actually, a May game with no A/C is asking for trouble, especially on the second night of a back-to-back. The staff will need to tread carefully. It’s still preseason, after all. No one’s burning minutes here. Not Kelsey Mitchell, not Aliyah Boston, not DeWanna Bonner.
And even Clark—at her home court—might not suit up at all if there’s any health risk. She said it’s just “a little tightness,” but White made it very clear—no unnecessary chances will be taken. So between rookie debuts, tough roster decisions, historic homecomings, and humidity problems, the Indiana Fever’s preseason is already a rollercoaster. We can’t wait to see what’s ahead.
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