Indiana
This Indiana Fever rebuild is a process. WNBA’s best showed it won’t happen overnight.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever are two games into the season, and they already know they have a lot to figure out.
In the first two games of one of the most anticipated seasons in history, the Fever lost by 21 on the road to the Connecticut Sun, then returned home to the wrong side of a 36-point drubbing, 102-66, against the New York Liberty on Thursday at a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“You don’t win a lot of games in this league when you only score 66 points, but also you don’t want a lot of games giving up 102,” said Indiana coach Christie Sides. “So we’ve got a lot to figure out.”
More: Fever are loaded with offensive talent. But they have to figure out how to use it.
To give the Fever some (if any) credit, they went up against two of the most experienced teams in the league. The Sun don’t have a rookie on their roster, and their core of DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones have been playing with each other for over four years.
In addition to Sabrina Ionescu, New York has Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones — all of whom are seasoned veterans who joined the Liberty in 2023, appearing in the WNBA finals.
These players know what they’re doing. They have a connection that can only be forged with time — something the Fever don’t have any advantage in.
“Our communication just has to increase, especially when you’re playing teams that know each other like the back of their hand,” said Fever second-year center Aliyah Boston.
The Fever have two starters who are completely new to the team and system: Katie Lou Samuelson and Caitlin Clark. Samuelson, a five-year veteran, came to Indiana after a year off because of pregnancy. Clark is coming to the Fever as the No. 1 pick, fresh off a Final Four season with Iowa.
With the Fever, there’s just not the same chemistry other, more-veteran teams, will have. Still, some of it comes down to effort and communication.
“I think there’s quite a bit that we need to learn about each other and about ourselves,” Samuelson said following Thursday’s loss. “But if we can dig deep, and play as hard as we can, as tough as we can for 40 minutes, we can probably make up for some of that. But we have lapses where things just escalate, and you can see this kind of dip.
“So it really comes down to just playing with a lot more energy, playing harder, communicating louder, little things that we shouldn’t be saying in this press conference right now, but that’s really the stuff we need to take care of.”
It takes time to get a team working together as well as the Sun and the Liberty. But, Sides said, the Fever are also missing some things that have nothing to do with how long a team has been together.
“It’s a process, but there’s a level when it just gets too much, when people are just continuing to punch you,” Sides said. “We’ve got to figure out how to stop them and give it right back to them. And we’re just not matching that.
“We’ve just got to get an attitude a little bit when people score on us,” she added. “You just can’t let it be so easy to just let them do what they want to do on us. It all goes back to just having a little bit of fight, passion, toughness.”
The Fever’s schedule isn’t doing them any favors. They start the season with two games each against the Sun, who reached the playoff semifinals last season, and finals runner-up Liberty. Five of their first seven games are on the road, and they play all seven within a 12-day stretch.
It’s challenging, no doubt, but it’s also not an option. The Fever are going to have to work through this gauntlet of a schedule, both travel- and competition-wise.
“You just have to do what you have to do to recover, and take the time when you get it,” Boston said. “We don’t really have that many days of a break in between games, and so we just have to be ready and recover.”
The reality of the situation is the Fever are 0-2, and their 57-point deficit through two games are the most to begin the season in league history (per ESPN Stats). Drafting Clark will be a franchise-changing move for the Fever, but they weren’t going to come out and beat some of the best teams in the league out of the gate.
A’ja Wilson was the Las Vegas Aces’ second-straight No. 1 draft pick in 2018, following Kelsey Plum. That 2018 Aces team went 14-20 and missed the playoffs, getting the top pick for the third straight draft. Now, Las Vegas are the back-to-back champions and Wilson has won two MVP titles.
If history is any indication, Clark and the Fever are going to be fine. They’re going to be good, or even great. But building chemistry doesn’t happen overnight, and success isn’t instant.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepterson67.
Fairfield native, David K. Wells, 69, and his wife Aileen, were found dead inside their home in Newburgh, Indiana, Monday night. Warrick County Sheriff Michael Wilder said that deputies responded to the residence just before 8:00 p.m. after dispatch received a call around 7:40 p.m. from a friend of the family requesting a welfare check. When officers didn’t get an answer at the door, they entered through the back of the home and found the couple deceased. Officers cleared the home and waited for detectives to arrive. Investigators also obtained a search warrant to do a further examination of the residence. Authorities were able to notify family members and conduct interviews to gather additional information. Sheriff Wilder said investigators believe the couple had been dead for less than 24 hours before they were found. He also said there is no indication of any forced entry or an intruder. Sheriff Wilder has not made a formal determination as to what happened. Autopsies for the couple were scheduled for yesterday morning to help determine a cause. David Wells grew up in Fairfield and graduated from Fairfield High School in 1975. He had a long career in television commercial production in Evansville and had more recently operated the Cigar! Cigar! tobacco store in Evansville.
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Indiana saw a significant decline in veteran homelessness last year, despite the total number of homelessness rising across the state.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual estimation of the homeless population, known as the Point in Time (PIT) count, Indiana saw an 18.7% decline in veteran homelessness in 2025 compared to the year before.
That marked the second-largest decline of any state by percentage.
Helping Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana specializes in assistance for veterans facing homelessness. CEO Emmy Hildebrand told News 8 the formula that’s finding success is the same that works with any at-risk group: housing and wrap-around services.
Hildebrand said that the formula needs support from the state.
“There is no state funding supporting homeless services in our state,” Hildebrand said. “And very little local funding outside Indianapolis.”
Safety net programs have faced budget cuts, with lawmakers eliminating funding for the Housing First program in 2025. It supported organizations helping people secure stable housing.
And housing advocates have criticized Indiana’s public camping ban as essentially making it illegal to be homeless.
HVAF client Terri Massey, a 34-year-old Navy veteran, said the stigma of being homeless was the most difficult challenge to overcome.
“I’m still trying to provide for my kids,” Massey said “I’m (not) out here being lazy or not trying to do better.”
Massey was working, supporting her children, but found herself sleeping in cars and hotel rooms because she didn’t have stable housing. “Going to that work, working 10 hours, leaving, going to sleep in my car.”
HVAF helped place Massey in a permanent apartment. HVAF also placed Massey in a different kind of “bootcamp” years after her time in the military, learning job skills. She’s looking for a job, but thankful to do it from a place she can call home.
“I am beyond grateful and thankful. I literally pray and thank God every day,” Massey said. “Because for the longest I felt like I was alone. And I had to figure everything out by myself. I didn’t.”
It’s estimated that seven percent of Indiana’s homeless are veterans. Hildebrand said there are federal funds for organizations working with veterans, which support HVAF’s programs.
Still, finding permanent housing is a struggle.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 extremely low-income households in Indiana, just 34 rental homes are affordable and available.
“There are so many people on the bubble that are just one emergency away from living in their car, staying with friends and family, or living on the streets because we don’t have the appropriate system here in Indiana,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand said lawmakers assured her they would work to support homeless services, but she hasn’t seen any drafted legislation that might be introduced in the next legislative session.
Across the country, about one in 25 people experiencing homelessness previously served active duty in the armed forces, according to numbers from HUD. Veteran homelessness declined 56% between 2009 and 2025.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day for July 8th in Northwest Indiana.
Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range, also known as the “orange” level. While not everyone will notice or be effected by the conditions, and while they may not be as severe as recent wildfire smoke events, individuals with asthma, COPD, and other health issues should proceed with caution when exercising outside.
Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range, also known as the “orange” level. (WSBT Photo)
The affected area is all of Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, Valparaiso and all other cities in the region, especially those near Lake Michigan.
Warm temperatures, mostly sunny skies, and light and varied winds coming off of Lake Michigan are expected to contribute to elevated ozone levels.
To stay up to date on issuances and quality levels in Indiana, visit SmogWatch.IN.gov.
-
Utah7 minutes agoMan suspected in 2006 Utah murder left suicide note in Las Vegas jail cell: police
-
Vermont10 minutes agoOUTDOOR ACCESS FOR DISABLED IN VERMONT
-
Virginia15 minutes ago4 indicted in Virginia double homicide; second victim ID’d as grandmother of 6
-
Washington22 minutes agoWashington Commanders are retiring Hall of Famer John Riggins’ No. 44
-
Wisconsin25 minutes agoWisconsin State Patrol rides with truck and bus drivers to spot violations in five areas
-
West Virginia30 minutes agoWest Virginia town fires entire police force after chief resigns, sergeant alleges evidence room break-in
-
Wyoming37 minutes agoWHP: July 5 single-vehicle rollover north of Riverton resulted in one death, one injury
-
Crypto40 minutes agoBritish Airline Jet2 Shares Jump 9% After $536M Fuel Hedge Gain Offsets Middle East Travel Fears
