UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It's time to win or go home for the Indiana Fever.
The Fever will face the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of their best-of-3 series Wednesday night. The team hit the practice floor Tuesday in Connecticut after a 93-69 loss in Game 1 Sunday.
The 24-point loss was certainly a wake-up call for the young Fever squad, showing them how the intensity is ramped up in the postseason.
"Obviously, it's a must-win, either win and go back and play at your place or just go home. So I think for us, like, you approach it the same way. Every single game in the playoffs matters just as much as it does in the regular season, at least that's how i approach it. Every game means a lot," Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. "So, come out with the same intensity, I think just leave it all out there. Forty minutes, that's all we're guaranteed, 40 minutes, so you have to leave it all out there."
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Kelsey Mitchell, a seven-year veteran, is the elder statesman on the Fever roster. She said the team is embracing the challenge.
"You gotta die on your sword on Wednesday. That's just what it is, there's no denying that. You gotta do what you gotta do to win a game," Mitchell said. "They're not going to make it easy, they're the best for a reason, they're ranked where they are for a reason and so, you gotta look yourself in the mirror...and give your best."
Head coach Christie Sides believes in her team. The goal is to push the series to a winner-take-all Game 3 back in Indianapolis.
"These guys, they're figuring it out and this is going to be great for the future, to get this experience. But it's been businesslike for these guys and that's what they've done. They've put in the work and that's what we just keep preaching, you put in that work, you get rewarded," Sides said. "I don't think we did some things that we had done better as of late in the game the other night to make it more difficult for them. So enjoy the moment, I'm trying to do that, but being a competitor, all of us are, we want to take this thing back to Indy."
If the Fever win Wednesday, Game 3 will be held Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.