On Sunday, the Indiana Fever failed the test of time. A technical issue with the clock distracted the players so much that it seemed to freeze them. Head coach Stephanie White blamed the defeat on the system failure, but two of her players saw it differently.
The clock malfunction, which required two resets, confused everyone in the arena. However, the Fever players also lost focus, allowing the Valkyries to take the lead and win the game.
A weak excuse for Fever fans
According to Essentiallysports, when asked after the game about the clock issues and their effect on Fever’s rhythm, White quickly responded: “It certainly affected the rhythm of the game. I don’t know if it affected preparation at all. But yes, it’s disruptive. It’s not something you expect to see.”
She added: “But we often talk about controlling the things we can control, and we couldn’t control that. So stay warm and stay engaged. I thought we did what we could to solve the problem.”
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— GSVL (@ValksLatam) September 1, 2025
White suggested the technical glitch distracted the players, saying: “You know, every time we potentially had a chance—it was like a five-point game with seven and a half minutes left—we had the opportunity to close the gap, but mental lapses killed us and allowed them to go on a run.”
But Natasha Howard rejected that excuse: “We can’t control those things. So with that, it didn’t throw off the rhythm at all, none of that. Like I said, some things we just can’t control on either team.” Indeed, the Valkyries also endured a marathon first half that lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Aerial Powers also dismissed White’s explanation, stating: “No, I don’t think that was part of it. It was our defense. No excuses with the shot clock. Whatever happens, they had to play against it too. It wasn’t just us. So, no excuses there. We definitely had some defensive breakdowns.” In short, both players agreed that the loss came from internal problems, not from the clock malfunction—the same malfunction that White used as her excuse.
