INDIANAPOLIS — Stephanie White needed her group to be desperate. There is a difference between desperate and reckless, she noted, but that was not something the coach had to explain to her players. They knew. This roster has become increasingly familiar with that distinction over the last six weeks—playing desperate enough to keep going after one brutal injury, another, two more, desperate enough to claw their way back to a playoff spot, desperate enough to win two straight games while facing elimination in the first round. No team has needed to understand desperation this year as well as the Fever. They would need to harness that just a bit more to get through Sunday.
And they found just enough. The Fever beat the No. 2 seed Aces, 90–83, to force a winner-take-all Game 5 in the WNBA semifinals. More competitive in transition, on the glass, and diving on the floor, they managed to hold a narrow lead for nearly the entire second half.
