Latest news with #NatashaHoward
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Fever vs. Sky odds, tips and betting trends - 7/27/2025
The Chicago Sky (7-17) will host the Indiana Fever (13-12) after dropping three straight home games. It begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Indiana was a winner at home over Las Vegas, 80-70, in its last game. Its top scorers were Kelsey Mitchell (21 PTS, 33.3 FG%, 3-9 from 3PT) and Natasha Howard (18 PTS, 13 REB, 3 STL, 66.7 FG%). Chicago lost at home to Seattle, 95-57, in its last game. Its top performers were Kamilla Cardoso (13 PTS, 13 REB, 62.5 FG%) and Rachel Banham (13 PTS, 36.4 FG%, 2-8 from 3PT). Here's everything you need to get ready for Sunday's action. Watch this game on ESPN+! Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky odds and betting lines WNBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Sunday at 6:05 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Fever moneyline insights Sky moneyline insights Fever vs. Sky: Game time and info Watch this game on ESPN+!
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
For Natasha Howard, it all starts with defense. On Thursday, it helped spur Fever's offense
INDIANAPOLIS – All good games on the offensive end start with shutdown defense. At least, that's how Natasha Howard sees it. 'Our defense gets our offense going,' Howard said. 'That's how we maintain games like that. We don't rely on our offense a lot. We rely on our defense. When defense is going, our offense is going. So we limited Vegas to one shot, and that's how we got open shots for shooters, inside the paint, everything.' And that led to a pivotal win for the Indiana Fever, as they left Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night with an 80-70 victory over the Las Vegas Aces. Indiana (13-12) now holds the tiebreaker over Las Vegas (12-12) if the two finish with the same record at the end of the regular season. It was also the first time in franchise history the Fever have won back-to-back games over the Aces. A lot of that was thanks to Howard. Howard, who played 30 minutes Thursday night, finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with 13 rebounds (five offensive) for her sixth double-double of the season. The 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Howard was brought back to Indiana to be a tone-setter. She did that Thursday. She took advantage of the Aces' defensive tendencies, powering through contact to draw fouls. She had a team-high seven free-throw attempts, making five of them. Howard also created extra possessions for herself and her teammates, cleaning up the glass with a team-high five offensive rebounds. She even rounded out her performance with a rare 3-point make. And, Howard says, it was thanks to her defense — and her teammates. 'I just went out there and just played my game, and also just chirping to my teammates, and my teammates chirping back to me as well,' Howard said. 'You're welcome,' guard Sophie Cunningham, sitting next to Howard, interjected. 'For me, it was just my defense,' Howard added. 'My defense translated into offense.' That defensive tenacity is something the Fever coaching staff has been prioritizing this season. Indiana was at the bottom of the barrel defensively for the past two years, allowing a second-worst 106.3 points per 100 possessions in 2023 and 107.5 points per possession in 2024. This season, under coach Stephanie White, the number has improved to 100.5 points per 100 possessions — seventh in the league. 'We really challenged their pride, their individual defensive pride,' White said. 'You gotta guard your yard. You gotta guard your matchup. We gotta guard two-and-two in the pick-and-roll. We gotta do a better job of locking into that consistently. And I felt like individually, for the most part, we held true to that. There were still some breakdowns for various reasons, but I thought we did a much better job, and we got better tonight.' Now, the Fever will need to do that consistently. Indiana has shown spurts of being a championship-caliber team, evident in those two wins over Las Vegas, a win over league-leading Minnesota in the Commissioner's Cup, and a win over the reigning champion New York Liberty. But Indiana hasn't been able to show up on both ends of the floor on a consistent basis this year, dropping winnable games (like giving the now-3-20 Connecticut Sun their first win of the season and suffering a second-half collapse against the Los Angeles Sparks). The Fever, coaching staff and players alike, know time is running out to have what they consider to be a successful season. And they'll need to turn those spurts of greatness into a constant to become a dangerous team. 'We have to just understand the urgency and attention to detail that it takes,' White said. 'We don't have the luxury of having breakdowns, of having lapses. We have to understand the sense of urgency that it takes with each possession… We've got quality depth, and we've got to be able to use it.'
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
For Natasha Howard, it all starts with defense. On Thursday, it helped spur Fever's offense
INDIANAPOLIS – All good games on the offensive end start with shutdown defense. At least, that's how Natasha Howard sees it. 'Our defense gets our offense going,' Howard said. 'That's how we maintain games like that. We don't rely on our offense a lot. We rely on our defense. When defense is going, our offense is going. So we limited Vegas to one shot, and that's how we got open shots for shooters, inside the paint, everything.' And that led to a pivotal win for the Indiana Fever, as they left Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night with an 80-70 victory over the Las Vegas Aces. Indiana (13-12) now holds the tiebreaker over Las Vegas (12-12) if the two finish with the same record at the end of the regular season. It was also the first time in franchise history the Fever have won back-to-back games over the Aces. A lot of that was thanks to Howard. Howard, who played 30 minutes Thursday night, finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with 13 rebounds (five offensive) for her sixth double-double of the season. The 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Howard was brought back to Indiana to be a tone-setter. She did that Thursday. She took advantage of the Aces' defensive tendencies, powering through contact to draw fouls. She had a team-high seven free-throw attempts, making five of them. Howard also created extra possessions for herself and her teammates, cleaning up the glass with a team-high five offensive rebounds. She even rounded out her performance with a rare 3-point make. And, Howard says, it was thanks to her defense — and her teammates. 'I just went out there and just played my game, and also just chirping to my teammates, and my teammates chirping back to me as well,' Howard said. 'You're welcome,' guard Sophie Cunningham, sitting next to Howard, interjected. 'For me, it was just my defense,' Howard added. 'My defense translated into offense.' That defensive tenacity is something the Fever coaching staff has been prioritizing this season. Indiana was at the bottom of the barrel defensively for the past two years, allowing a second-worst 106.3 points per 100 possessions in 2023 and 107.5 points per possession in 2024. This season, under coach Stephanie White, the number has improved to 100.5 points per 100 possessions — seventh in the league. 'We really challenged their pride, their individual defensive pride,' White said. 'You gotta guard your yard. You gotta guard your matchup. We gotta guard two-and-two in the pick-and-roll. We gotta do a better job of locking into that consistently. And I felt like individually, for the most part, we held true to that. There were still some breakdowns for various reasons, but I thought we did a much better job, and we got better tonight.' Now, the Fever will need to do that consistently. Indiana has shown spurts of being a championship-caliber team, evident in those two wins over Las Vegas, a win over league-leading Minnesota in the Commissioner's Cup, and a win over the reigning champion New York Liberty. But Indiana hasn't been able to show up on both ends of the floor on a consistent basis this year, dropping winnable games (like giving the now-3-20 Connecticut Sun their first win of the season and suffering a second-half collapse against the Los Angeles Sparks). The Fever, coaching staff and players alike, know time is running out to have what they consider to be a successful season. And they'll need to turn those spurts of greatness into a constant to become a dangerous team. 'We have to just understand the urgency and attention to detail that it takes,' White said. 'We don't have the luxury of having breakdowns, of having lapses. We have to understand the sense of urgency that it takes with each possession… We've got quality depth, and we've got to be able to use it.'
Indianapolis Star
7 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Can Fever still be a contender this season? 'You see it in spurts,' but that's not enough
BROOKLYN – For nearly three quarters, the Indiana Fever were in a rhythm. They were going shot-for-shot with the New York Liberty, the reigning champions and one of the best teams in the league. They had seven steals and forced 11 turnovers by halftime, leading by as many as seven points in the third quarter. Then, as quickly as they had it, they lost it. Starting around the three-minute mark of the third quarter, New York went on a 29-8 run over nine minutes of game time. They limited the Fever to just two field goals during that stretch, all while easily creating space for their own shots. 'I feel like they didn't really feel us in the second half like they felt us in the first half,' Fever forward Natasha Howard said after Tuesday's 98-84 loss. 'We let them take quick shots, and that let them get easy buckets on the offensive end, and we really didn't pay attention to the personnel, we really struggled with that. But New York is a really good team, a championship team for a reason.' These second-half breakdowns have become an unfortunate theme for the Fever. They'll start strong in the first half, bring a lead into halftime, build it up midway through the third quarter, then fall apart. It happened in San Francisco, when a 13-point third-quarter lead turned into an 11-point loss on June 19; again in Las Vegas, when an eight-point lead in the third turned into a seven-point loss on June 22; and a third time against Los Angeles on June 26, as a 10-point third quarter lead pivoted to a 10-point loss. Amid roster changes and injuries, the Fever can't seem to consistently put a full 40-minute game together. They've had some big wins, including the Commissioner's Cup over Minnesota (which doesn't count in league standings) and their first win over Las Vegas since 2019 on July 3, but that doesn't cover for the games where they have the win in their grasp, then flail. 'The difference in championship-caliber teams are those two or three minutes in a ballgame,' Fever coach Stephanie White said. 'You can't have the miscommunications, you can't have the breakdowns, you can't have the poor shot selection, playing outside yourself. Whatever it may be. Games and series are won and lost in those small margins.' So, that begs the question: after a lot of preseason hype, are the Fever actually championship contenders? Ahead of the season, national media had the Fever high on their championship boards. Taking into account the acquisitions Indiana made, like 16-year veteran DeWanna Bonner and three-time champion Natasha Howard, and the talent they were able to retain in eight-year veteran Kelsey Mitchell, a lot of people thought Indiana could contend alongside New York and Minnesota. That was even something star Caitlin Clark characterized as success for the Fever this season: 'a championship.' For multiple reasons, those talks have cooled since the season has gone on. Clark, who was in preseason MVP talks, has missed 11 games so far this season with various muscle injuries. Bonner only played nine games for the Fever before requesting a trade, and she was waived less than halfway through the season. 'That's for everybody else to discuss if we were really going to be a contender or not,' White said. 'Certainly, there's no substitute for experience, and Tash and Syd (Colson) are the ones that have championship-caliber experience. I do think the disruption, and players playing in different positions because of that disruption, hasn't allowed the continuity as much as we like, but you see it in spurts.' The Fever have only had four games where they had their entire roster — including Aari McDonald, a midseason signee after Bonner was waived — so far this season. And it may be a while, if at all this season, that they'll have their full roster back, depending on the severity of Clark's right groin injury. The standard for a successful year for the Fever may have wavered since the beginning of the season. Right now, at 12-12, they're tied for sixth in the standings and in the fight to keep a playoff spot. Still, they know the margin of error is low. And, injuries aside, they know they need to improve. 'I don't think we have wiggle room to figure out anything else,' said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 29 points Tuesday. 'It's a gut-check game every game. Everybody's trying to make the playoffs, everybody's trying to be a contender for something, and I think it all comes down to who's going to be the tougher team for 40 minutes.'
Indianapolis Star
7 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Without Caitlin Clark, Fever were pushing Liberty. Then defending champs pushed them aside in 2nd half
BROOKLYN – The Indiana Fever officially squandered the season series to New York on Tuesday night, as a seven-point second-half lead turned into a 98-84 loss. The Fever will finish the regular season 1-3 against the Liberty, giving New York precedence on any potential tiebreakers that could come later in the season. This loss pushes the Fever to 12-12 on the season, tied for sixth in the WNBA standings. Kelsey Mitchell finished with a game-high 29 points, while Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston each had 13. The Fever will return to Indianapolis to play Las Vegas on Thursday. Caitlin Clark missed the game with a right groin injury. Her return date remains uncertain after visiting with doctors Tuesday. Here are two observations: For a while, Indiana was holding its own against the reigning champions. The Fever led by four at halftime, recording seven steals and forcing 11 turnovers in the first half. That lead got up to seven points late in the third quarter, and the Fever seemed to be in a rhythm. Then, the Liberty found another gear. New York went on a 29-8 run over 10 minutes between the third and fourth quarters, and the Fever went from leading, 67-60, to trailing by double digits, 89-75. Indiana also didn't make a basket in six minutes throughout that stretch, allowing the Liberty to quickly build on that lead. Staying consistent in the second half is something the Fever have struggled with this season; they've had multiple games where they bring a significant lead into the third quarter, but fall apart in the second half. This, again, was one of those games. Fever star Caitlin Clark missed her second straight game and 11th overall so far this season while recovering from her latest muscle injury. Clark strained her right groin on July 15 against Connecticut, marking her fourth muscle injury of the season. She had to pull out of All-Star activities, including the 3-point contest and All-Star Game in Indianapolis, because of the injury. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark was meeting with doctors on Monday and Tuesday to get additional opinions on her injury. Clark made the trip to New York with the team for Tuesday's game. White didn't have an update on Clark's injury or a recovery timeline pregame, adding she met with a doctor Tuesday morning. The Fever did not specify if that doctor was in New York, saying they would not comment specifically on doctors visits. Clark was still an active participant from the bench, talking during huddles and timeouts and standing on the sideline to watch at times. While on the bench, she sat on a blue cushion; Sophie Cunningham and Natasha Howard used those cushions at times, as well.
