Fever Coach's 2-Word Referee Lament After Dream Playoff Loss Says It All

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White expressed irritation at the referees of her team's September 14 playoff loss to the Atlanta Dream.

Sep 14, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White on the sideline against the Atlanta Dream in the second quarter during game one of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever suffered an 80-68 defeat to the Atlanta Dream during game one of their 2025 WNBA playoffs first-round series on September 14. As a result, the Fever need to win their September 16 home game against Atlanta to bring the series to a winner-take-all game three or else their 2025 campaign will come to an end.

Sunday's defeat was a frustrating one for the Fever. In addition to the short-handed roster simply not having enough firepower to compete with the Dream down the stretch, it felt like Indiana was also playing against the game's referees at times.

Specifically, there was a lot of irritation at third-year official Marcy Williams, as Williams made several mistakes in the first half that caused Stephanie White to use both of her challenges (each of which was successful). And White's irritation boiled over in the fourth quarter, as she received a technical foul after an emotional outburst that required her to be held back by Caitlin Clark and several other Fever players.

Sep 14, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White reacts after being called for a technical foul as forward Aliyah Boston (7) and guard Caitlin Clark (22) stand behind against the Atlanta Dream in the fourth quarter during game one of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Stephanie White Speaks About Referee Performance After Fever Loss to Dream

White, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull spoke with the media after their team's loss. And at one point, White was asked how frustration the referee performance was today.

"Very frustrating," White said, per a YouTube video from Tony East. "Very frustrating. Nobody likes to use their challenges in the first half, especially when they're successful.

"Look, it is what it is. This is not anything that's new. I think how we adjust, how we use it to our advantage on one end, and try to be disciplined enough to not on the other end, it's an equal chess match as it is for playing an opponent," White added. "So I think that's just an area that we're gonna have to dive into."

White is right in saying that mediocre referee performance isn't anything new, as it is something she and many other members of the WNBA community have complained about this year (and in years past).

However, that isn't going to change before the Fever's next game, so White is also right in saying that her team needs to be able to adjust and adapt to whatever the referees call, given that it's ultimately out of their control.

It will be interesting to see how the Fever respond to this adversity against the Dream on Tuesday. The good news is that they've been facing adversity all season long.