This isn’t the first time the Indiana Fever has fallen to the Valkyries this regular season. And it sure isn’t the first time they’ve been the subject of a ‘bad body language’ narrative. Remember when the Fever took down the undefeated Liberty, 102–88, and the internet was busy reading between the lines? They picked up on Caitlin Clark, holding her arms out in exasperation, twice. It was because after missing a 3-pointer, Caitlin Clark was open for another look, though she didn’t get the ball back. That decision of Natasha Howard to hold on to the ball clearly bothered her. However, this time, Caitlin Clark isn’t the only one in the spotlight.
In fact, according to analyst Rachel DeMita, outside of her teammates Dantas, Colson, and Timpson, no other Indiana Fever player had what could be considered a “good game” against the Valkyries. It was because, “I also just noticed a lot of bad body language on the court, and it wasn’t just from one player. It was multiple players on the Fever,” said DeMita. She even listed out multiple reasons backing her claim.
In what was the Fever’s second-fewest points of the season, the struggle started right in the first quarter itself. While they managed to dominate the first quarter (23-21), the Valkyries killed even the Fever’s faintest hopes of winning from there on. Kelsey Mitchell was the only other starter on the Fever who scored double-digit points in the loss, where she shot just 3 of 13 from the field.
DeMita remarked, “They weren’t playing in sync, there was a lot of iso ball happening. There was a lot of selfish basketball being played, there were a lot of long twos.” She added that there were a lot of low-quality shots and that there’s a difference between a smart mid-range shot near the paint and one taken just a step inside the three-point line. DeMita added, “There were a lot of missed passes to the cutters.” All of this clearly left her “at a loss for words.” But players weren’t the only ones in the line of fire after tonight’s 61-80 loss.
She even called out HC Stephanie White’s decisions. DeMita opened with, “One other thing with the Indiana Fever is I didn’t understand the rotations at all. There were points in the game where the Indiana Fever had momentum, and then Coach Stephanie White would sub out certain players who were creating that momentum.” If you know Rachel DeMita, she always backs her analysis with examples. Here she pointed out the “time in the third quarter where the Indiana Fever made this big run.”
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