To get to the top, sometimes you have to get knocked down first.
That's the perspective Kelsey Mitchell is taking after her Indiana Fever were swept by the Connecticut Sun in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs and fell one win shy of reaching last year's WNBA Finals.
"I look back on it and ... I'm like, 'Damn, maybe it's supposed to happen this way.' But that experience kind of made us who we are," Mitchell said of the Fever's return to the postseason two years ago. "It was (Caitlin Clark's) first year. It was my first playoffs. It was (Aliyah Boston's) first playoffs. Our core is only as strong as our group.
"As long as we stay together and we take these moments ... (from) last year and a couple years ago and you keep using it for the right things, I think that we give ourselves a chance."
Indiana's defeat versus Connecticut was an important learning experience for Clark, who shot just 20% from deep and 35% overall in her postseason debut. The Fever star was limited to 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting in the series opener, yet she bounced back with 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds in the next contest.
Indiana led 77-75 with 2:05 to go in Game 2, but a pair of costly turnovers sealed the team's fate as the Sun rallied from behind to book their spot in the next round.
"It was difficult," Clark recalled. "They were probably the best defensive team in the league at the time, and I was a rookie. I had never played in the playoffs before. The second game, I like to say ... we should've won. We had a two-point lead and a couple of bad plays down the stretch."
Lexie Hull is the team's longest-tenured player outside of Mitchell. The Stanford product was part of a WNBA-worst 5-31 squad during her rookie year in 2022 and has since become a key starter during the club's climb back to prominence.
Ahead of the Fever's third straight playoff appearance, Hull has tried to prepare Indiana's rookies for what lies ahead. She's mentioned the increased game intensity and fan engagement that come with the opportunity to compete for a championship. Hull herself didn't truly understand the significance of it all until facing Connecticut two years ago.
"Everyone takes it way more seriously and every possession matters," Hull told theScore. "You see that in the way people are diving on the court, people are running their lanes. People are just really paying attention to the little details, and that makes a big difference."
Indiana's playoff experience proved valuable last year as Clark and Sophie Cunningham were among five players sidelined with season-ending injuries. The shorthanded Fever upset the third-seeded Atlanta Dream on the road in Game 3, closing the contest on a 7-0 run to secure their first series victory in a decade.
Indiana then gave A'ja Wilson and Co. everything they could handle in the WNBA semifinals, taking the Las Vegas Aces to overtime in Game 5 before falling short in the extra frame. Despite the loss, Hull took solace in how she and her teammates continued to fight and uplift one another, even though the odds were stacked against them.
The Fever almost took down the eventual champs despite Boston fouling out and Mitchell exiting in the third quarter due to rhabdomyolysis - a severe breakdown of muscle tissue that can be fatal in extreme cases.
"Obviously, last year was hard," Hull told theScore. "We had a lot of players out. But I think the beauty in that was showing the rest of us that we can really achieve anything, regardless of the five that are out on the court."
Hull added: "I just learned that we're all stronger than we think. Kelsey was able to perform at such a high level and she was (nearly) forced off the court on a stretcher."
Clark and Boston will also draw on their experiences from the recent FIBA Women's World Cup. Both players suited up in their maiden World Cup as members of the U.S. senior women's national team.
The Fever duo spoke highly of its time alongside New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, who took both players under her wing. The two-time WNBA MVP was happy to lend advice as they faced the world's top players and navigated the tournament's high-pressure environment for the very first time.
"My vets were Sue (Bird), (Diana Taurasi), Tamika Catchings, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, and Maya (Moore). It makes a lasting impact," Stewart told theScore. "In your first one, you want to learn. You're there to learn. You're there to be a sponge."
Those weeks spent in Berlin were equally beneficial for Indiana head coach Stephanie White, who served as an assistant on Kara Lawson's Team USA staff. Not only were her players exposed to different offensive and defensive styles, but White was, too, as she game-planned against each country.
"I think you can take a lot of things … being around other great coaches, learning from them, growing, and seeing things from a different lens," White told theScore. "I was doing scouting reports. Haven't done those in a long time. Watching the way that different teams play and some of the different actions. It was a really great learning experience for all of us."
The U.S. played with a sense of urgency in the medal rounds en route to its fifth consecutive World Cup crown. Then, as the WNBA regular season wound down, Clark implored her team to adopt a similar mindset, and she's hopeful that it will carry over to the playoffs.
Following a recent 18-point win over the Toronto Tempo, Clark's focus was on the "sloppy" areas that could hurt the Fever in the postseason. She cited the club's lack of discipline at times, poor decision-making, and inability to control the defensive glass. Toronto finished with 30 free-throw attempts, 15 points off turnovers, 10 second-chance points, and nine more offensive rebounds than Indiana.
"That was the game right there," Clark said postgame. "If we would've cleaned up those areas and maybe even cut it in half, it's a much more comfortable win. It's probably just pure domination."
The Fever know they have a chance to do something special this year with a healthy Clark leading a historic offensive attack alongside Mitchell and Boston.
Indiana's previous playoff shortcomings have also taught them what's needed to take the final step. Having been a part of three six-win seasons in addition to the 5-31 campaign, Mitchell isn't taking the franchise's latest postseason trip for granted.
"At any given moment, this can go the wrong way," Mitchell told theScore. "You've gotta have the right mindset for it and be ready for it. And I think that we have the right group for it."
