Fever Coach Stephanie White Reacts to Kelsey Mitchell's Costly Miss in Loss to Mystics

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 7:24 AM ET

The Indiana Fever lost a tight one on Friday night. They battled against the Washington Mystics to the end, but ultimately came up short, 88-84.

It was another off shooting night for three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell in this one, going just 6-of-19 from the field for 14 points. The 5-foot-8 guard did dish out nine assists in the game, but it still wasn’t enough to help the Fever avoid their second straight loss.

Mitchell also missed a crucial layup down the stretch for the Fever. The 29-year-old missed a great look that would have cut Washington’s lead to just one point with around 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Mystics secured the defensive rebound, and there was just no getting back for Indiana from that point.

Fever coach Stephanie White was asked to share her reaction to the crucial play during the postgame press conference. White, who called a timeout to draw up a play for that pivotal possession, shared her honest thoughts about Mitchell’s missed layup.

"Yeah, they've been sending two (defenders) to Kelsey, and we figured they'd be in switches during that time, and so we wanted to get something to the rim," White said. "Get a quick two (or) get a foul, we were going to be in the penalty ... It's just making plays at those moments."

White refused to pinpoint that particular moment as the reason behind Friday’s loss. Instead, the veteran shot-caller looked back at Washington’s 22-7 run in between halves as the one that “put us in a hole that we had to come back from.”

"I thought we got good looks in the end," she continued. "We just didn't knock some of them down and missed some opportunities."

Stephanie White on the late layup attempt by Kelsey Mitchell. Obviously not the only (or even one of the main) reason(s) they lost that game, but was a significant moment. pic.twitter.com/RFK3wk4XsS
— hank (@Brian_Haenchen) August 16, 2025

The Fever fell to 18-16 after the Mystics loss and have slipped to seventh in the WNBA. They will get a chance to get back to winning ways when they return to action on Sunday in a road game against the league-worst Connecticut Sun.

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

More must-reads: