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Fever Coach Stephanie White Could Not Fight the Tears After Big Win on Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 7:01 AM ET

The Indiana Fever’s mettle was tested on Sunday, and they passed with flying colors. After going down by as many as 21 points against the league-worst Connecticut Sun, the Fever fought back and mounted an incredible comeback to escape with a 99-93 victory in overtime.

Kelsey Mitchell led the way for Indiana, tying her career-high for 38 points on 11-of-22 shooting, to go along with one rebound, six assists, two steals and five triples in 40 minutes of action. It was a show-stopping performance from the three-time All-Star, who scored 34 points in the second half and overtime to lead her team to victory.

Fever coach Stephanie White singled out Mitchell during her postgame locker room speech. The veteran shot-caller shouted out Mitchell for putting the team on her back. Apart from Mitchell, however, White could not help but get emotional as she expressed her pride in her entire squad.

"I'm so proud of you [...] We will never be counted out."

head coach Stephanie White was overcome with emotion in the locker room after a thrilling comeback win over the Sun. pic.twitter.com/yt6h06boG9
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 17, 2025

After going around the room to highlight each of her players’ contributions in the win, White delivered a fiery message to end her speech.

“That’s what it’s going to take,” she said. “We’ve got to play free. We’ve got to play with no pressure. But we [expletive] fight. Live that resilience every [expletive] day, and we will accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

White was overcome by emotion following Sunday’s hard-fought comeback victory. The 48-year-old coach could not fight back the tears as she praised her players for their hard work. This goes to show how invested White is in her players and her team, and her reaction speaks volumes about how this was one of the most meaningful wins of the season for the Fever.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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