It was quite an impressive comeback from the Indiana Fever in their Monday night win against the Phoenix Mercury. They had managed just six points in the first quarter, tying their lowest scoring output in any single quarter since 2018 and their fewest in a first quarter since 2016. Yet they turned the game around completely. They erupted for 35 points in the second quarter and ultimately walking away with an 86-77 victory. A remarkable recovery, but one that came with a significant caveat.

Coming back to win is commendable. But that abysmal first quarter output doesn’t send a good message about where this team’s focus was. For WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita, it revealed that the Fever simply weren’t bringing enough intensity during certain stretches of the game, a quality that used to be their calling card, especially in low-scoring, grind-it-out situations. 

“Sometimes even if they’re having an off-scoring night, the least they can do is just be aggressive. Like, just have your heart in it,” DeMita said in her postgame reaction video on YouTube. “Just go out there and play hard. Like, that was always something that was part of the Fever’s identity. And I feel like when they have quarters where they’re not doing that. When they’re not playing with pace and playing with heart and playing hard and playing scrappy and really just laying it all out there, it shows.”

And for DeMita, the concern goes beyond one poor quarter against a struggling team. The Phoenix Mercury are currently sitting on a 5-13 record. And while the Fever were able to recover and win this one, that level of recovery may not be available against stronger opposition. 

“They’re not going to be able to beat teams if they’re not playing with that grit and that heart. That was kind of the identity of this team at one point in time. So I would definitely like to see more of that,” she added.

That said, it would be entirely unfair to suggest the Fever were lifeless for the entirety of the contest. And Demita was fair enough to also point out that the Indiana fever showed grit at some point in the game. Once they found their footing in the second quarter, they sprinted in transition and piled up 35 second-quarter points. And even when the game turned physical and tense, with multiple fouls, they didn’t retreat. Instead, they leaned into the scrappiness, outscoring Phoenix 30-11 in the third quarter while clamping down defensively with real intent.

And looking more closely at that dreadful first quarter, some context is worth considering. The Fever missed approximately 16 consecutive field goal attempts. That’s a stretch of misfortune that would test the composure and focus of any team. That kind of sustained futility is mentally draining and genuinely frustrating. And it likely played a role in the tightness that followed. 

But then again, frustration doesn’t justify disengagement. If anything, it is precisely in these moments that an elite team like the Indiana Fever should lean hardest into their competitive identity. Playing with more heart, as DeMita put it, may be exactly what separates a good win from a bad loss when tougher opponents come calling.

Stephanie White Acknowledges Low-Energy Start Before Indiana Fever’s Strong Response

The way Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White assessed that opening quarter against the Mercury, she largely echoed what DeMita had already diagnosed from the outside. When asked for her assessment of the start and how the team found their way back, she described it simply and honestly as a low-energy one.

“I thought our energy was low,” White said at the postgame press conference. “I thought we were tight, I thought we settled for a lot of jumpers. And when they weren’t going in, you could almost kind of see us getting tighter. And it is just, we just had to loosen it up. We talked in the second timeout about. ‘look, our shots are going to fall, but we have to find more energy.'” 

And what came after the adjustment is something that gave White genuine satisfaction. The way the Indiana Fever responded once they shook off the tightness and found their rhythm was something she was proud of. “I’m proud of the way that our team responded,” she added.

The Indiana Fever face the same Phoenix Mercury again in their next game. And the hope is that they hit the ground running from the very first possession this time. A first-quarter start like the one they had on Monday should serve as all the motivation they need to come out sharper, more energized, and without the need for a second-quarter rescue mission.