Jason Whitlock questions Stephanie White's decision to keep $214,466 star on bench in clutch loss vs Sparks

Stephanie White made a questionable decision late in the Indiana Fever's 89-87 loss to the LA Sparks on Saturday. Sports columnist Jason Whitlock was baffled when forward Natasha Howard was on the bench during the Fever's final possession.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whitlock questioned White's decision to bench Howard in the final two seconds of the game. The Fever were down by two points, and the veteran forward had 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Aliyah Boston missed a 21-footer as the Sparks beat Indiana for the second time in less than two weeks.

"Why was Howard out of the game on the last offensive possessions? 8 of 11 from the field," Whitlock tweeted.

Natasha Howard was having a fantastic game before getting subbed out for Lexie Hull in the final possession. It's unclear why Stephanie White made the decision, but it's probably due to Howard and Boston getting clogged on the paint, with the LA Sparks knowing the Indiana Fever needed two points to tie.

Hull was there to create space for Boston, who missed the shot to send the game to overtime. However, to Jason Whitlock's point, Howard, who was signed to a one-year, $214,466 contract in the offseason, was having a good game shooting the ball.

Nevertheless, the loss to the Sparks showed the Fever's inconsistency during the absence of Caitlin Clark. They lost to the same team on June 26 during Clark's first game out with a groin injury. They defeated the Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas convincingly before dropping a winnable one versus one of the worst teams in the league.

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Stephanie White explains why the Fever lost to the Sparks

Stephanie White explains why the Fever lost to the Sparks. (Photo: IMAGN)

Speaking to reporters after the game, Stephanie White discussed how the Indiana Fever lost to the LA Sparks. White gave credit to the Sparks for taking advantage of the mismatches and attacking the paint for easy baskets, particularly late in the game.

"I think they just put their head down and started to attack us," White said. "They did a really good job of recognizing when our guards, our small guards, got switched on to. Whether it was (Rickea) Jackson or (Azura) Stevens. They also did a good job of executing some of their schemes."

Here's a video from the presser via Indiana beat writer Tony East.

White added that her team wasn't disciplined in that regard but was happy with their final shot even though it didn't go in. The Fever are back in action on Tuesday against the Golden State Valkyries.