"Not me crying": Injured Fever stars Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson melt over coach's emotional locker room outburst

The Indiana Fever faced a desperate situation as they headed into Sunday’s game vs. the Connecticut Sun without guards Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald and Caitlin Clark. To make matters worse, Sophie Cunningham exited the game early after injuring her knee during the second quarter.

With a severely undermanned backcourt, the team found itself down by 21 points. But the players rallied and pulled off a dramatic comeback, winning 99-93 after overtime. The game was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, even more so for Stephanie White, who has been dealing with a severely depleted roster.

Addressing her team after the game, White was overcome with emotion.

"I'm so proud of you guys. Sometimes it sounds like a b**** when we talk about being resilient, but it's not, man. It's how we live," White said. "It's a tribute to you. It's a tribute to your connectedness, your togetherness, your toughness, your mindset, your never f***ing give up gritty attitudes. That's what it takes.”

White’s emotional speech was shared on Instagram by the team's official account. Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson, who were diagnosed with season-ending injuries on Friday, reacted to White’s speech, leaving touching responses under the post’s comment section.

“🥹👏🏾👏🏾,” Colson wrote.

“Not me crying 😂🥹,” wrote McDonald.

Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson’s reaction to Stephanie White’s speech

Indiana Fever pulls off historic comeback to hang on in the playoff hunt

Sunday’s game against the Sun was a must-win affair for the Indiana Fever. Heading into the matchup, the team had lost four of its last five games and was barely hanging on in the playoff hunt, holding the seventh position in the league.

The Fever won, pulling off the largest-ever comeback victory in the franchise’s history. To make things sweeter, their win saw them improve to sixth in the league. Indiana is now half a game ahead of the Golden State Valkyries (18-16) in seventh and two games in front of the Seattle Storm (17-18) in eighth.

However, the road ahead will only get tougher as Sophie Cunningham has also joined the team's injury list. Stephanie White must now manage her rotation with four guards missing from the lineup as we head into the final stretch of the season.

The Fever will return to the court on Friday to face the Minnesota Lynx.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan