Fever reach WNBA semifinals despite losing Caitlin Clark and other key players to injury

The Indiana Fever finally got a chance to celebrate Thursday night in Atlanta.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever finally got a chance to celebrate Thursday night in Atlanta.

A smiling Caitlin Clark, dressed again in street clothes, rushed the court to hug her teammates. The tone in coach Stephanie White’s voice changed between the first two questions of her postgame news conference. And three-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell recounted her journey here, to her first WNBA semifinal appearance — the one nobody saw coming just a few weeks ago.

Yes, this team defied the odds by playing their way — with grit, resilience and an uncanny ability to adapt to any obstacle that threatened to derail their postseason aspirations.

Indiana Fever guard Shey Peddy, left, guard Lexie Hull, center left, and head coach Stephanie White, center right, celebrate after a score to take the lead over the Atlanta Dream, in Atlanta, on Thursday.Butch Dill / AP“I’ve had so many coaches in eight years, I’ve been on the worst record teams in the Indiana Fever (history), so I know where my career started at,” Mitchell said after the sixth-seeded Fever rallied in the final minute to beat the third-seeded Dream 87-85 in a decisive Game 3. “I know what I’ve had to go through to kind of be in this position, and I’ve never had a coach that poured into me respectfully, like Steph has. I’ve never felt that as a pro.”

The truth is White needed Mitchell every bit as much, maybe even more, than Mitchell needed that tight bond with the league’s 2023 Coach of the Year.