Stephanie White addressed the Indiana Fever's defense after the Dallas Wings shot 59.1% from the field in a 107-104 season-opening win.
The Dallas Wings shot 59.1% from the field, 52.2% from 3-point range, and beat the Indiana Fever 107-104 in Saturday's season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Fever head coach Stephanie White said the Fever defense needs to be more disciplined.
The Wings scored 33 points in the second quarter to take a halftime lead. Dallas finished with 12 made 3-pointers on 23 attempts. The Fever, despite shooting 51.9% from the field themselves, allowed 25 fast-break points and gave up 22 points off 14 turnovers.
"We've got to be more disciplined," White said. "The difference in their uncontested looks from three compared to our contested looks was significant. Sometimes we over-rotated when we didn't need to. Sometimes we had coverage breakdowns. We gave up too much in transition and fouled too many shooters. Those are all detail-oriented things that are correctable."
Dallas built a 9-point lead at its peak. The teams traded 11 lead changes and were tied 11 times. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 22 points. Paige Bueckers and Odyssey Sims added 20 points apiece, with Bueckers shooting 8-of-10 from the field and Sims 8-of-11. Jessica Shepard finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, 1 rebound shy of a triple-double.
White also spoke to the WNBA's scoring environment.
"You're not going to outscore teams in this league," White said. "Everybody is too good. You've got to defend at multiple positions, and teams will expose you if you're undisciplined."
White also took some responsibility for the team's pace in the second half.
"I thought our pace got a little sluggish, though, and that's on us as a coaching staff," White said. "We probably played Kelsey and Caitlin a little too long in the second half before giving them a break."
Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever with 30 points, pointed to personnel awareness.
"I think it comes down to personnel awareness and understanding who you're guarding and how you have to guard them," Mitchell said. "Collectively, we've got to take more pride in getting stops and finishing possessions with rebounds. When you let certain players get going, it becomes difficult to stop them. Dallas shot the ball really well, and we have to be better defensively."
Caitlin Clark finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers. Aliyah Boston added 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals on 9-of-14 shooting.
The Fever (0-1) visit the Los Angeles Sparks (0-1) on Wednesday. The Sparks opened their season with a 105-78 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
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