Indiana Fever grab first home win of 2026 vs Seattle Storm — Likes and Dislikes
The Fever have a home win at last.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever were searching for home win number one of 2026 on Sunday night as they hosted the Seattle Storm. Two one-possession defeats in Gainbridge Fieldhouse showed the need for defensive improvements, and the Fever were missing a key part of their defense on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston (lower leg) was out for the first time of her entire career. Monique Billings moved up to the center spot, then Myisha Hines-Allen started at the four. Lexie Hull opened the game, too, with Sophie Cunningham heading to the bench.
Stephanie White wanted more rebounding. The Fever, generally, needed more defense. Off they went, hoping to get back to .500. Likes and dislikes from Fever-Storm.
Tony East
LIKE: Early cuts
The Fever kept scoring on cuts to start the game. Hull ran backdoor. Hines-Allen sprinted up the floor. Kelsey Mitchell found space on the court to score without the ball, then Cunningham checked in and did so herself twice.
Six of the Fever's first eight made shots were assisted, and many of them were off of cuts or simple uses of open space. It made for some smooth, easy offense – the Fever were ahead by 10 after about five minutes of play.
LIKE: New subs and better bench play
Even beyond Hull and Hines-Allen starting, the Fever made rotational changes. Some of these could have been for lineup balancing reasons, but the second unit was different on Sunday.
Cunningham came in early. Raven Johnson entered before Ty Harris. Makayla Timpson was the first frontcourt reserve in the game, then Damiris Dantas later. Compared to Friday, the stars were coming in and out at different times.
The results, which were good, certainly influence that this is a like instead of a dislike. There was a reliance on either Clark or Mitchell to create shots for the bench group in the first quarter, but the altered sub patterns seemed to be a positive in the first 10-minute stretch.
One quarter down, Fever lead 32-19.
LIKE: Fever's focuses
Through one quarter, the Fever hadn't allowed an offensive rebound and had zero turnovers. All of their two-point field goals came right at the basket, and they made three shots from deep.
Better defense, better rebounding, and a more natural offensive process. Just how things should look against an inferior, on paper, team.
DISLIKE: Defensive lapses
The Fever were scoring with such ease that some of their defensive errors slipped under the radar. They were giving up buckets left and right to start the second quarter and again seemed disconnected on that end of the floor.
Too many defensive breakdowns meant the Fever and Storm were trading buckets. Indiana's lead dropped from 13... to 11 after 3.5 minutes of the second quarter. So not much change, but that was primarily thanks to the offense rolling. The defense, as it was in the Fever's first three games, was poor in the second period.
Halftime: Fever 55, Storm 44
DISLIKE: Game flow
The game's speed has been fine and largely quick enough that it hasn't disrupted the Fever's tempo. Rather, the story of this game for the 15 minutes since the first quarter ended has been about its back-and-forth nature.
The Fever were up 13 after 10 minutes. Halfway through the third quarter, they were up... 14. In between, the game never got closer than an eight-point margin. Both teams were struggling to find sustainable solutions.
Defensively, the Fever had just barely been good enough to hold their advantage. They're not playing poorly. But they've been equal with Seattle for a while now and need more punch, especially with their offense producing.
LIKE: Small ball and aggressive Sophie Cunningham
I tweeted in the first half about a lineup I was enjoying that had all of Clark, Mitchell, Raven Johnson, and Sophie Cunningham. At the time, Makayla Timpson was the center. The Fever felt fast and threatening in that moment.
Later, in the third quarter, Stephanie White turned to a group with Clark, Johnson, Hull, and Cunningham alongside various centers. It was similarly potent. Cunningham, in particular, had a strong third period as the Fever finally expanded their lead.
Boston's absence, plus the Storm's lack of experienced size at the four, made this a natural game to turn to small ball. Head coach Stephanie White was asked about those groups pregame, and they were effective in this outing.
Cunningham in the third frame: Eight points (2/2 from the field and 3/3 from the foul line) and one rebound.
After three, the Fever were up 77-58
DISLIKE: Gently losing the door
The Fever were up big over the LA Sparks in their only win of the season, then closed the game poorly. The Sparks cut their deficit to seven with 1:23 to go that night, at least giving themselves a chance before the final possessions.
On Sunday, the Storm made their own similar push. In one 43-second stretch, they went on an 8-0 run to drop the Fever's lead to 12. Granted, the Fever had put in mostly reserves and were still up a comfortable amount with about two minutes to go. But their finishes in victory have not been inspiring.
Seattle got as close at 11, but it didn't matter. Too little, too late. The Fever held on.
The Final score was 89-78, and it marked the Fever's first win at home this season. They're 2-2 and next play on Wednesday.
Thank you for reading. Two days off for the Fever before their next outing. Sign up below to have stories about the team sent directly to your email inbox.
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