Fever's Stephanie White Gives Positive Monique Billings Update After Injury Concern
The Indiana Fever finished up their 2026 WNBA preseason slate with a dominant 105-57 win over Nigeria on May 2.
While it was good to see the Fever secure the victory, nobody expected Nigeria to be able to compete against them. Instead, most Fever fans were just hoping to see their team play with cohesion and chemistry on the court and hoping that nobody got injured.
This is why it was concerning to see forward Monique Billings go down with a right ankle injury in the second quarter. She seemed to walk it off ok, but the fact that Billings (who is celebrating her 30th birthday on Saturday) was ruled out shortly thereafter led to some concern. She ended up only playing 6 minutes in the game but scored 7 points during that limited time.
Stephanie White Provides Positive Monique Billings Injury Update After Fever Preseason Win
Thankfully, it sounds like Billings' birthday won't be ruined by a serious injury, which Fever head coach Stephanie White conveyed when speaking to the media after the game.
"She seems to be doing all right. She said she's gonna be fine. It was definitely precaution, but certainly having an opportunity, as most ankle tweaks, to re-evaluate it tomorrow, and see where she is," White said of Billings, per an X post from @ericaf455.
Coach White said Monique Billings said her ankle was fine and her not playing was just out of precaution. pic.twitter.com/3VNVmtqq6S
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) May 3, 2026
Given that the hamstring ailment that kept Lexie Hull out of Saturday's game isn't anything serious, it appears that the Fever will be entering the season healthy, so long as White and Billings are right about her ankle injury just being a tweak.
Billings has proven to be a valuable part of the Fever's lineup through the preseason, especially because of her skills in transition, steady hands, and solid defense. Not to mention that she has shown an ability to knock down open three-pointers, which is invaluable playing alongside Caitlin Clark and the rest of Indiana's high-powered offense.
The Fever have exactly a week to get their roster ready for opening night, as they face the Dallas Wings on May 9. Injuries are inevitable throughout the course of a season, and the Fever experienced this the hard way with their injury-plagued 2025 campaign.
Hopefully, the Fever making it through the preseason relatively free of injuries bodes well for them staying healthy throughout this season, especially because the team appears primed to compete for a WNBA championship.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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