The Indiana Fever did not luck into the semifinals of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, that's for certain. After all, they continue to defy the odds by taking Game 1 of their semifinal clash against the heavily-favored Las Vegas Aces, stealing that contest on the road in convincing fashion with an 89-73 victory. This playoff run from the Fever is quite remarkable when considering that they're doing this without their best player Caitlin Clark, among other notable injury absences.
Playing with house money can do wonders for the mentality of a team. After all, playing without pressure frees up players to simply do their best and let the chips fall where they may. But the Fever didn't make it this far by simply accepting moral victories. Now that they're here, they want to win it all. And for head coach Stephanie White, it all starts with discipline on the defensive end — particularly against league MVP A'ja Wilson.
“Our discipline on the defensive end of the floor. No, we didn't do everything perfectly. But we played at multiple levels of effort. We stayed disciplined and defended without fouling which is gonna be a key for us. We got to keep Vegas off the free throw line. And we had to stay disciplined in terms of our coverage and our point of attack,” White said in an appearance on the In Case You Missed It podcast with Khristina Williams.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White on her team’s defensive discipline and execution against the Aces, preparing for 4X MVP A’ja Wilson, and what to expect in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals.
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— In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams (@ICYMIwithKW) September 24, 2025
Wilson had her worst game in a while on Sunday when she scored just 16 points on an abhorrent 6-22 shooting night. That was very uncharacteristic for the Aces star, and the Fever defense deserves plenty of credit for holding her in check to that degree.
The Aces also shot just 12 free throws, and with Kelsey Mitchell lighting it up, the Fever definitely showed that they have what it takes to push a team as talented as Las Vegas' to the limit.
Aces will bounce back and the Fever have to be ready
In any playoff series, one game does not mean very much. While a five-game series doesn't give teams as much time to prepare or redeem themselves as a seven-game series does, the Aces can still learn from what went wrong in Game 1 to give the Fever a reality check.
Indiana has to be prepared for the counterpunch the Aces will be throwing their way. And it looks like Las Vegas is already learning, as they currently own a double-digit lead in the third quarter of Game 2.
