McBride was an all-star for the fifth time in her career as Boston goes back door to Hull working on Williams. Hull gets it to go and a foul. Career high for you tonight. How’d that first half feel especially with 18 and just 20 minutes of play? I mean it obviously feels good I think um for me just playing with confidence.
 
Um we’re missing people so everyone’s got to do a little bit extra be a little bit more aggressive offensively. So that was my mindset going in and obviously it feels good to see the ball go through the net. Lexi Hall had the game of her life. The fever had momentum and then it all came crashing down.
 
Not only did Indiana give up a massive third quarter run, they also lost two more key players, Khloe Bby and Odyssey Sims, adding to an already brutal list that includes Caitlyn Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Coulson, and Ary McDonald. That’s now six rotation players gone, leaving the fever short-handed in the middle of a playoff race.
 
There was resilience, no doubt, but it was overshadowed by frustration. Postgame, Stephanie White praised Hull as aggressive, while Lexi herself shared honest words about stepping up with the team so depleted. At the same time, questions swirled about the coaching decisions that led another halftime lead to vanish.
 
So, what did Lexi Hall say exactly that has the entire team fired up? If you support Lexi and the Fever, then comment Lexi show. Let’s go. Second All-Star appearance was right here in Indianapolis back in July. Oh, looking inside for Boston. She will launch and knock down a three. Lexi Hull’s hit a pair end of that game, but foul line continues to flumx Smith here this year. Here’s Hull back door.
 
Puts on the brakes and lay it in. It’s a Lexi Hull show here. Lexi Hull’s breakout performance became the unexpected heartbeat of this game. On a night when Indiana’s roster was stripped down to its core, she delivered the best showing of her young career, dropping 23 points on nine of 16 shooting, including four of seven from three while logging nearly 37 minutes.
 
Against a Minnesota team stacked with depth and experience, Hall looked completely unfazed, stepping into the moment with confidence and purpose. Lex, did you come into tonight kind of expecting to play darn near the whole game just with the injury situation and and the personnel available? Damn, you played 37 minutes. I mean, you played a lot, too.
 
Kills, when did you play? 35. I mean, yeah, we’re down people, so got to got to suck it up, play a little tired, a few minutes, and uh take in those timeouts as best we can. But yeah, I mean, we’re down people, so everyone’s got to do a little more. For for you offensively, was the was the plan to kind of try and get some looks inside early to get yourself going and then start working from the outside, or was that just kind of how the game set itself up? just read the defense, you know. Um I think I got some really good
 
passes on the back cuts and that’s a that’s a testament to my teammates, you know, finding me, but keep them moving, just reading whatever they’re giving. From the opening tip, she played like someone determined to be more than a role player. Her early threes barely touched the rim on their way down, and she grabbed easy looks with sharp back door cuts that left Minnesota caught off guard.
 
She had 18 points by halftime, carrying much of Indiana’s offense when they were setting the tone. The scoring came when it mattered most while the game was still in reach, not during garbage time after things were decided. And then Khloe Bivbyy’s absence, you’ll likely see a lot of Turner on the floor here today as Lexi Hall launches and hits. It’s a three-point parade.
 
Going in. Here is Hull. Look how aggressive Lexi Hull has been here in the first half. That was her eighth shot. Lexi Hull with all the confidence in the world. Petty wide open. Oh yes. What stood out wasn’t just the number of points, but the way she got them. Hall refused to be one-dimensional. She sprinted through open lanes, crashed the glass, and constantly forced defenders to chase.
 
Indiana leaned on her heavier than usual, and she showed she could handle it. This was more than luck or an outlier shooting night. Her energy and assertiveness gave the Fever an emotional lift they desperately needed. 16 in the first half for McBride. Hull catch and shoot. Knocks down another 18 for Hull. That is a new.
 
Afterward, Hull explained that she was just trying to read the defense and make the right play, knowing the injuries meant she had to carry more than her usual role. Stephanie White noticed too, praising her for being aggressive and for the first time this season really hunting shots. That shift in mindset made all the difference.
 
Hall wasn’t waiting for the game to come to her. She was actively taking it. Lexi Hall tonight, career hype for her, just especially affected there early on. What were you seeing from her performance? She was aggressive. I mean, she was hunting shots. Um she was aggressive to the rim. You know, she she knew we needed we needed another score on the floor and u because of the attention that that Kelsey and and AB get um she was she was getting free and she was hunting shots and that’s what we’re going to need from her.
 
For a stretch in the first half, the fever felt alive in a way they haven’t in weeks. Hall was drilling jumpers. Kelsey Mitchell was creating offense, and the bench erupted after every make, like they were on the verge of something special. Fans watching could sense it. The confidence Hall played with was contagious, sparking belief that maybe this team still had a punch to throw.
 
Turner with the offensive rebound. Hull is wide open and knocks down. But that spark wasn’t enough to cover the cracks surrounding her. As great as her night was, one player Serge cannot patch the holes left by a roster gutted with injuries. Indiana needed Hull to be a hero, and she gave them that. But the weight of everything else caught up fast.
 
That second half promise ran into a bigger problem, one that’s been the theme of the Fevers season. The only reason Hall’s big night stood out so much is because of just how thin the Fever’s roster has become. The injuries have come in waves and left this group barely holding a rotation together. Caitlyn Clark has been sidelined since July 15th with a right groin injury.
 
Sophie Cunningham went down with a torn MCL that required surgery. Sydney Coulson’s year ended with a left ACL tear and Ary Macdonald was shut down because of a foot injury. That’s four players gone before this game even tipped off. Then in the span of one night, things got worse. Khloe Bby felt soreness in her left knee during warm-ups and was held out as a precaution while Odyssey Sims exited in the fourth quarter and never returned, awaiting further evaluation.
 
Just obviously Khloe Bby a late addition to the injury report. Just when did that injury happen or do you know the severity at this point? Um felt something during pregame and so holding her out as a precaution. We don’t know anything. So hopefully we’ll get some more information tomorrow when she can be seen.
 
had she been dealing with with any soreness or anything like that in in previous days the week leading up to tonight? Yeah, I think everybody’s dealing with soreness at this point in the year. Um but yeah, I had been dealing with a little bit of knee soreness and um again just, you know, want to make sure that we’re we’re cautious and and uh figure out what’s going on before she gets out there.
 
That sequence left Hull as the only regular wing left standing and forced the Fever to cobble together lineups on the fly. BBY’s absence meant they lost one of the few forwards who could give them balance and Sims going out took away the only veteran point guard they had available.
 
Indiana had to hand heavy minutes to young guards and recent hardship signes. When Sims called for a sub late, Shea Petty had to come in and essentially run the offense despite having only just joined on a 7-day hardship contract. Bby herself was only signed earlier this month. Another reminder of how thin this bench is right now.
 
What do you know about Odyssey after I think she left the game and didn’t return? Is she injured? What’s up with that? Yeah, we don’t know anything yet. Um, she’s going to get evaluated tomorrow. So, we’ll see. With regards to Odyssey, do you have any ideas of what it was she tweaked? Was it a groin or or any I have no idea.
 
I just heard her say, “I need a sub.” And so, I I got Shay up there. The ripple effects were obvious. Hall played extended minutes as the lone wing option while Brianna Turner and Michaela Timson were thrown into difficult matchups far outside their usual roles. Possessions turned shaky because the guards on the floor didn’t have the comfort or familiarity to initiate sets cleanly.
 
By the third quarter, fatigue showed. Simple ball movement broke down. Aaliyah Boston fought hard to get position inside, but passes arrived late at the wrong angle or not at all. Head coach Stephanie White admitted that they are trying to integrate two new point guards into the system mid-season and the disconnection was clear.
 
Plays that used to flow with Clark now ended in rush jumpers or unforced turnovers. Don’t think you want to play Lexi 40 minutes. How can you handle the wing without Chloe tonight? Yeah, I mean, you know, it’s we’re just we’re going to have to do it by committee. You know, Brie Turner can guard five positions, so she’ll be out there defensively.
 
Um, you know, we’ve got to try to to manipulate lineups a little bit more to figure out um who who we can stretch the floor with. So, we’re probably on the floor the same time as Dee in a lot of things that we do. Um, but, you know, again, if if if it’s not going to be spacing the floor in the half court, we’ve got to be able to get our defense to to create some offensive transition opportunities.
 
That doesn’t always have to be steals for scores, but we’ve got to get miss shots that allow us to get out, run out, and and try to create some things in transition. The toll stretched to the defensive side, too. With so many extended shifts and unusual lineups, legs got heavy. Players rotated late, and Minnesota punished every breakdown.
 
The sense around the team is fragile. Fans and players alike know that every fresh injury lands like another blow to any realistic playoff push. Yet, the group is still trying to rally in small ways. The MVP Kelsey shirts worn pregame served as a spark of pride, a sign that they haven’t stopped fighting.
 
But pride alone doesn’t replace the bodies they’re missing. And that meant the burden shifted directly onto the remaining core with veterans and newcomers alike scrambling to plug the holes left behind. Oh my goodness, I was taken back. I was uh I was It was fun. It was funny. Uh I was very humbled. I was grateful for my group.
 
Um, I love the people I play with and um, to know that they would go out their way to make something like that happen for me, it means a lot more than people know because um, I have been here the longest I have. You know, everything that people talk about, I have been and to know that my teammates kind of like see me as, you know, I I have value somewhere and I feel like they make me feel like, you know, I’m important to them and vice versa.
 
And so that value means everything to me. And um, anybody knows me, I’m a loyal type person. And so I’m going to forever look at them like forever friends after something like that. When everything seemed stacked against Indiana, a few key players still managed to rise to the occasion. Lexi Hall stole the spotlight with a career-high 23 points in 37 minutes.
 
But she wasn’t carrying the weight alone. Kelsey Mitchell fueled the offense with another commanding performance. Aaliyah Boston anchored the paint as best she could, and newcomer Shea Petty provided an unexpected spark in her fever debut. Together, they formed the backbone of a team trying to stay afloat under impossible circumstances.
 
But she has managed everything so well and not only the players resilient, but she’s and so too is Kelsey Mitchell who knocks down in transition. Austin Carlton Collide. No whistle either way. Mitchell fires away. Mitchell once again played like the engine of this group. She led all scorers with 27 points, added five assists, and drilled five of seven from three, forcing Minnesota to account for her every trip across half court.Before the game, her teammates honored her impact by wearing MVP Kelsey shirts during arrivals, a rare show of recognition for a true franchise cornerstone. Mitchell admitted afterward how much it meant to her, saying, “They make me feel like I’m important to them and vice versa. That value means everything to me. With Clark out and the roster battered, she backed up those words by refusing to let the fever fold even as defensive pressure mounted.
In first place in the league, the only team that has already clinched a spot in the playoffs there’s others. And McBride just reads it and eats it up. Mitchell launches and knocks down a three. It’s Mitchell’s fourth. Boston’s stat line wasn’t explosive, but it was steady. 15 points and six rebounds across long stretches without any help in the front court rotation.
 
Her consistency gave Indiana at least some presence on the inside, though critics noted her defense didn’t carry the dominance expected from an all-star. Still, considering how little margin for error the Fever had, Boston’s ability to battle through fatigued minutes kept the team from being overwhelmed in the paint.
 
Here’s Boston backing her way inside. spins, fades, fires, and hits. Well, rebound a moment ago from Jessica Shepard. Third quarter, they are shooting 61% on the night. Boston pulls down the offensive rebound and Indiana. Then came the surprise of the night. Sha Petty just signed on a hardship contract.
 
She had barely been able to practice with the group before being thrown into a live game. And yet, she delivered. Petty scored 10 points, hit three of four from behind the ark, and showed the kind of aggressiveness that drew praise from coach Stephanie White after the game. Her composure on catch and shoot looks gave Indiana an instant lift.
Still, the rest of the point guard duties revealed her inexperience. Running the offense and directing flow was still a work in progress. Mitchell in the second half and that overtime. Well, we know she can heat it up. Oh, Petty shaking off Carrington and she hits her first shot with the fever. It’s a corner three and Indiana’s opened up four for five from a three-point fever on the nighter shooting 69%.
Look at Turner running the floor like a guard. Kick out Petty. Oh yeah. Paul’s hot hand, Mitchell’s leadership, Boston steadiness, and Petty’s debut all gave the fever moments where it looked like they might just punch above their weight. This makes for a compelling question. Which of these role players do you want to see earn more minutes as the season goes on? Yet, the reality is those flashes of support weren’t enough to turn the tide.
The Fever’s biggest problems didn’t come from who showed up, but from what unraveled once halftime ended. That’s when the momentum they had built was ripped away and the night shifted in a way they couldn’t recover from. Mitchell slicing through hand off Boston who lays it in. Kelsey Mitchell has to make decisions right now the field.
Another nine of 21 from the three-point line. Austin spins inside and she’s got backto back buckets. The breakdown in this game wasn’t just about players running out of energy. It exposed how coaching decisions or the lack of them can completely shift an outcome. The fever had the lead going into halftime, but Minnesota blew the doors open right after.
The Lynx outscored Indiana 32 to7 in the third quarter, erasing all the progress from the first half and flipping control in a matter of minutes. Both Hole and McBride are slow to get up on the other end. It’s fouron four. Two more for Boston. Betty looking inside, finds Hull. Boston deep position. Two more. What Minnesota did was simple but effective.
hey spread the floor, attacked straight line drives, and hit the offensive glass with purpose. Indiana, on the other hand, struggled to respond. Their defensive rotations were late. Box outs disappeared, and Aaliyah Boston was left stranded under the rim against multiple bodies. Possession after possession, the Lynx got second chances and rhythm jumpers that broke Indiana apart.
 
The lack of adjustments on Indiana’s side sticks out. Coverages stayed the same, pressure was light, and Minnesota took full advantage. That’s where the conversation shifts back to the sideline. Fans and analysts pointed quickly at head coach Stephanie White. Once again, Indiana had a strong first half only to collapse after halftime without visible changes in their game plan. This hasn’t been a one-off.
 
It’s a pattern this season where early momentum evaporates when opponents adjust and Indiana doesn’t counter the lulls that you obviously mentioned just now and how you guys want to make those ls obviously not as bad. Just what can the team do on the floor? What can you guys as a coaching staff do in the moment to kind of break those up? Yeah, I mean some of it’s timeouts.
 
Um some of it’s um substitution matchups although we’re we’re we don’t have a lot of those. Um and some of it’s just attention to detail. I mean, championship teams, their attention to detail throughout the course of 40 minutes is is is there for the most part. Um, and we’re we’re learning how to do that. White herself, though, didn’t shy away when asked afterward.
 
She admitted there were moments where we had some breakdowns in personnel D and cited turnovers as a turning point. She also pointed out that Indiana is working in new point guards who’ve practiced with the team only a handful of times, meaning the offense and defensive communication aren’t as sharp as they need to be.
 
That explanation adds context. It isn’t purely about sluggish decision-making in the huddle. There’s also a roster survival element with players learning roles on the fly. Still, for fans, the patience is wearing thin. They see Boston stuck with two defenders at the rim, closeouts consistently a step late, and opponents dictating games in the third quarter, while adjustments never seem to come.
 
Injuries make everything harder, yes, but the frustration builds when the same flaws repeat game after game. Our players bust their ass. Like, they battle every single game. Uh, and and you know, they just it’s a couple minutes here and there. you got to play a 40-minute game, but this is a special group of women, man, with what they with what they’ve been going through and uh everything that they’ve that they’ve had to continue to overcome and to put ourselves in position, you know, could have been really easy to fold in that third
 
quarter when they broke it open. To put ourselves in position, you know, to come back to compete to win a ball game. I mean, it’s it’s no matter what uh it happens, win or lose, the the the roots that this group is forming culturally, uh the roots that they’re forming in in terms of competitive spirit and and what it means to to to compete at this level.
 
I mean, those are those are what allow us to withstand these storms. And, you know, the the numbers tell a story. Um but, you know, their their hearts and their character tell another one. And the truth is the clock on the season is ticking. The Fever remain in sixth place, but as Athlon reported, they’re only a half game ahead of seventh and just about 1.5 games clear of ninth.
That’s the danger zone. Every loss like this chips away at their playoff window and the margin for error is nearly gone. So now the question falls to you. Is this on the coach too slow to adjust or is it a roster too broken by injuries to be judged fairly? Tell me which side you’re on below.
 
Because while this chapter raises more doubts than answers, one player’s performance offered at least a different kind of storyline worth holding on to. No matter what uh it happens, win or lose. The the the roots that this group is forming culturally, uh the roots that they’re forming in in terms of competitive spirit and and what it means to to to compete at this level.
 
I mean, those are those are what allow us to withstand these storms. And you know, the the numbers tell a story. Um, but you know, their their hearts and their character tell another one. Lexi Hall’s career night didn’t just fill a box score. It showed what a deeper version of this roster could look like.
 
Fans finally saw her step into the spotlight. And alongside Kelsey Mitchell’s 27 points and Aaliyah Boston’s steady 15-6, there were flashes of a foundation worth believing in. Still, the urgency is real. The Fever faced Minnesota again on Sunday, and dropping back-to-back games could erase their narrow playoff cushion. Lexi gave us reason to believe they still have to prove they can finish.
 
If you support Lexi and the Fever, then comment Lexi show. Like, subscribe, and turn on all notifications so you never miss out.