All hell broke loose during the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever‘s match at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday. The two evenly matched teams battled until the final moments of the intense game. Caitlin Clark hit back-to-back three-pointers, finishing with 18 points and 10 assists, while Aliyah Boston led the team with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Despite their efforts, Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu, Natasha Cloud, and Jonquel Jones stole the spotlight—and the win—from the Fever.

Though the 90–88 loss was a tough blow, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White held her head high. Known for her detailed analysis and focus on performance, White reviews every aspect of the game to pinpoint what went wrong. Determined and perfection-driven, she remains committed to leading the team through the season with hopes of contending for the league title.

The White-Clark duo has the potential to bring that vision to life. However, recent performances have raised concerns within the locker room. This time, however, White didn’t blame the circumstances, opponents, or her players. Instead, she took accountability for her own coaching decisions. Indeed, she admitted that she could have managed things differently. Especially after the third quarter.

A short clip from her post-match interview surfaced online. In the 32-second video shared on X, White calmly addresses the media, taking full responsibility for the Fever’s recent back-to-back losses.

Reflecting on her coaching decisions during the Fever’s high-stakes matchup against the reigning champions this afternoon, head coach Stephanie White acknowledged a key misstep that may have cost her team. In the now-viral video, she admits, “I have to do a better job of using my timeouts sooner. Oftentimes, you get caught knowing it’s gonna be a tight game—you want to keep them for the end—but I should’ve used one sooner.”

White explained that calling a timeout earlier could have helped keep the team fresh and better composed during critical stretches. Instead, she allowed her players to stay on the floor longer, hoping they would create and capitalize on more scoring opportunities—something she now regrets.

In the same interview, the coach offered a pointed message to her team, urging them to rely on collective play rather than individual heroics. “We have to do a better job, collectively, of understanding that individually we don’t have to be the one to make the play—the one that stops the run, turns the tide, or starts the momentum. It’s about making the ‘right’ play, not the ‘hero’ play.”

Her words served as both encouragement and a challenge: play smart, stay unified, and prioritize the team over personal highlight moments. Although it might have subtly referenced Caitlin Clark, the Fever simply didn’t win on Saturday.

Stephanie White-Caitlin Clark Bond Runs Deeper than the Games

“To me, I think it’s Caitlin Clark. Not just because she can score the basketball really at all three levels. But she got stronger. She has gotten better every year. Clark put on six pounds of muscle from a season ago… and she reads the game,” Stephanie White had said on ESPN’s 2024 WNBA Draft lottery.

One of the first head coaches to openly accept Clark into the W, Stephanie has praised Clark on numerous occasions. She has also defended the forward’s rookie games. Especially those concerning technicals and her turnovers. “When I’m looking at all these things that people are talking about with Caitlin Clark, it’s like, guys, chill out,” White said. “She’s gonna be fine. It’s two games in, are you kidding me?” While Clark was still fitting in the roster and the league as a whole, it was the former Connecticut Sun HC who supported her throughout her rookie season in the Indiana Fever’s roster.

And since the two came together for the 2025 season, White has provided the team and Clark with recharged enthusiasm and a striving motive to stay and win the game. Despite her disappointment with the way Fever started their first preseason this year, White was all praise for Clark and how far she has come since her rookie journey. Often called the Stephen Curry of Women’s basketball, White used the reference. She said, “That’s just who she is. I mean, nobody tells Steph Curry not to take good shots, right?”

The relationship between the head coach and Clark is unspeakably strong and runs deeper than any of us can imagine. However, will it create magic in the upcoming games? That remains to be seen. Be it turnovers, fouls, or the referee troubles, Stephanie White is visibly propelling the Fever’s roster towards something greater by pushing them to work on these issues. And as for Clark, despite a spectacular run so far, it remains to be seen how her performances in the regular season make the competitors speechless.