🤕 THE FEVER BESEIGED BY INJURIES

DESPITE THE LOSSES, INDIANA FIGHTS ON

2025 hasn’t been the season the Indiana Fever expected. Coming into the season, they were expected to take a leap into contention for the WNBA Championship. However, it’s been a challenging season as they’ve had to deal with the DeWanna Bonner situation and injuries to Caitlin Clark. Late last week, the Fever suffered two more injuries, and unfortunately, they’ll be without two key players going forward.

The Fever lost on the road to the Phoenix Mercury 95-60 on August 7. The big news coming out of the game was the status of guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald. Both players left the game due to injury, and on August 8, both got the worst news imaginable. Syd was diagnosed with a torn left ACL, and Aari was diagnosed with a broken bone in her right foot. Both will miss the remainder of this season.

Even though the Fever are extremely shorthanded, they keep fighting.

Indy took on the Chicago Sky in a primetime matchup on CBS. Despite having only nine players available, coach Stephanie White got tremendous performances up and down the roster as her team won by 22 points. Kelsey Mitchell in particular stood out as her 26 points and eight assists gave Fever fans plenty to cheer about.

“I think this is the most resilient team I've ever been a part of, and I say that wholeheartedly,” Mitchell said after the game.

“We’ve had a lot of mishaps happen throughout the course of the season. I think throughout the course of it all, we’ve stayed resilient, and you guys get to see us at our best when we stay together and be resilient. So shout out to my girls tonight, because I think it took everybody. Everyone played a role and I think that's how we got the dub.”

Indiana has made it up to the fifth seed and have a good chance of capturing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They may not reach the heights that a lot of people expected, but the fact that this group has been able to succeed despite weathering so many storms is admirable in its own right.

🗽 TARI PHILLIPS ENTERS THE LIBERTY RING OF HONOR

THE LIBERTY HONOR A LEGEND

At halftime of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Lynx, the New York Liberty honored Tari Phillips. Phillips played with the Liberty from 2000-2004, was named a WNBA All-Star four times, and helped the team make it to the Finals twice.

“Most importantly, I'd like to thank the fans,” Phillips said in her speech.

“You loved me, you accepted me here, and I thank you for that. I thank you for all the times you've been here, and I love you guys for that.”

Something the Liberty organization has done incredibly well is honoring its history. Whether through the Ring of Honor, special celebrations of legends, and creating a space for their icons to be part of the organization and active with the team, it ensures that as the team continues to climb new heights, they will bring their heroes from the past along with them.

With current players looking to get more benefits for retired players in the upcoming CBA, the Liberty’s highlighting of the past takes on even more importance.

Erica L. Ayala and I discussed the recent happenings for the Liberty on the latest episode of the Gotta Get Up Podcast.

The Liberty has a jam-packed week across the country, and we’ll keep you updated on how the champs fare.

💰 MONEY MOVES

THIS FIRE BURNS, ALWAYS

Expansion continues to be the name of the game as the WNBA goes full speed ahead into its future. In 2026, the WNBA will be welcoming two new teams into the fold.

The Toronto Tempo have started putting things together and hope to replicate the success of the Golden State Valkyries when they debut next season. Portland will be joining (or, rejoining in this instance) the W in ‘26, but their road to Opening Night has been a lot more arduous.

On June 28, the Portland team announced that they fired Team President Inky Son. Son took on the role in April after previously working for the National Basketball Players’ Association for many years. The team has hired retired Nike executive Claire Howell on an interim basis as they seek a full-time, permanent President. As they do that, Portland has taken a note from its past to bring into its future.

On July 15, Portland announced that the Fire will once again be the name of their expansion team, as they make their long-awaited return to the WNBA.

“As a city that has long championed women’s sports, Hamill said in a statement, ”Portland is ready to reclaim its place in the WNBA and reignite its connection to the game on the world stage. We are thrilled to complete the journey of bringing professional women’s basketball back to the Rose City, while honoring the legacy of the original franchise to blaze a new, bold path forward.”

The Portland Fire debuted in 2000 before they were dissolved two years later due to financial issues. They return to the world in a healthier landscape for women’s sports, with the WNBA in particular reaching new financial heights.

The Fire have been making progress on their shared practice facility with the Portland Thorns of the NWSL, and the first phase of the facility should be ready by the start of the ‘26 season. With the new CBA rapidly approaching, they’ll need to figure everything else out in a hurry.

For Portland fans, this moment is long overdue and fills them with optimism. It’s been a long road back to this point — and while there’s still work to be done, everyone can enjoy this moment and welcome the Fire back into the world.

📰 WHAT WE’RE READING

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

Here’s what we’re reading:

• Can Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier have it all? by Kendra Andrews for ESPN

• Tari Phillips Embraces Ultimate Liberty Honor by Geoff Magliocchetti for Sports Illustrated

• It’s Been a Long, Strange Trip for the Liberty by Hamilton Neill for The Local W

• Meghan Hall Has Seen It All by Tanner Plooster for The Lead

• Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 1,938 by Erik Loomis for Lawyers, Guns, and Money

⛹🏽‍♀️ UPCOMING GAMES

Here’s the schedule for the next few days (Eastern Standard Time)

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