Monique Billings Brings Silver Lining to Fever Loss vs Liberty

Indiana Fever forward Monique Billings was the team's lone bright spot against the New York Liberty. Perhaps this can be a sign of things to come.

Monique Billings | IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The Indiana Fever didn't have many positives to take from their 83-75 loss to the New York Liberty on June 6. They did have one, however: the performance that Monique Billings produced, which was her best individual game of the season so far.

Billings finished the game with 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field, along with tallying 8 rebounds in 35 minutes. What's more, she played solid defense throughout the contest, and her ability to score in transition (which was a big reason why fans expected her to be a difference-maker in Indiana) was apparent and led to some easy buckets.

Monique Billings | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Fever head coach Stephanie White spoke about what she saw from Billings on Saturday after the game ended, saying, "I thought her activity level was really good, on both ends of the floor. She was in the first half, especially, the most active on the glass for us. Her cutting was really good. A couple of those opportunities, I felt like she was able to get going to the rim because she got out of screens quickly, or because off the ball, she recognized open areas," per a video from the Fever's YouTube account.

"[Billings] was solid for us on the defensive end of the floor, and her activity was very good," White added. "You know, [she's being] asked to play a different role than she played a year ago, and two seasons ago. You know, Mo has been a bit like a chameleon. I think she's been asked to play lots of different roles in her career. And when you're playing with Caitlin [Clark] and Kelsey [Mitchell] and Aliyah [Boston], finding your way sometimes is part of the process. And I felt like today, she seemed like she was in a flow."

Monique Billings Provides Blueprint For Her Own Fever Success in Loss to Liberty

It's no secret that Billings hasn't had the impact many were expecting from her this season. She's averaging 5.9 points per game (down from her career average of 6.3) and hadn't scored a point in either of Indiana's previous two games before Saturday.

In fact, there has been some discussion that Myisha Hines-Allen, who has outplayed Billings to this point, should take her spot in the starting lineup.

One good game doesn't change the fact that Billings has underperformed to this point. But her outing against New York did show there's a way for her to succeed with the Fever: primarily through her versatile defense and ability to run the floor in transition, which are two advantages she has over Myisha Hines-Allen.

Indiana doesn't need Billings to score 15 points every night. But they could really use her converting on good opportunities, adding another layer to their transition attack, and handling her defensive assignments.

Hopefully for the Fever, Billings being the lone bright spot in their loss to the Liberty can be a confidence booster for the 30-year-old and perhaps kickstart a resurgent season.