A W of an L

 The Indiana Fever departed the 2025 season out in Vegas last night, but sing no sad songs for them. They went out on their feet, not on their shields. They went out the way champions go out, even if their names will not be inscribed on the championship trophy in a couple of weeks.

In the win-or-get-packin' Game 5 of the WNBA semis, after all, they pushed the Las Vegas Aces to overtime, on the road, before running out of weapons and gas in a 107-98 loss.

And if it seems vaguely obscene to use that word ("loss") this morning, that is entirely on the Fever. Because they didn't lose, really; they just didn't win. It was a W of an L. 

It was the Fever pushing a superior team to the cliff's edge on its home floor, and doing it, by the end, with all but empty hands. Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever's playoff engine, had departed with a leg injury in the third quarter after playing just 23 minutes. Aliyah Boston, their other playoff engine, had fouled out. Lexi Hull (43 minutes) and Odyssey Sims (41) had barely been off the floor; Brianna Turner and Shey Peddy had played heavy minutes off the bench.

And, of course, there was the Casualty Brigade over on the sideline in streets: Damiris Dantis and Chloe Bibby and Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham  and Aari McDonald and, of course, Caitlin Clark.

Another entire lineup plus a sixth woman, in other words.

To couch it in inappropriate but perhaps inevitable language of war, the Fever were surrounded and out of ammo. But they clubbed their muskets (to use a handy Civil War nerd term) and went down swinging.

Every one of the starting five scored in double figures, led by Sims with 27 points. Boston put up 11 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out. Natasha Howard had a16-point, seven-rebound, five-assist line. Hull scored 12 points, took down seven boards and dished three assists.

Mind-numbing stat of the night: The Fever outrebounded the Aces 40-21. And no that is not a misprint.

What it was, instead, was the evening's clearest demonstration of the Fever's will, because will is mostly what rebounding is. He (or she) who most wants the ball usually gets the ball when it goes up on the glass.

I don't know who's going to be the WNBA coach of the year. But if it's not the Fever's Stephanie White, Congress should convene one of those investigations of which it's so fond.

She essentially lost one entire team and had to cobble together another entire team in mid-season, and somehow managed to get cohesion and heart from both. That's a hell of a coaching job, is what that is. And last night?

Hell of a not-loss, Fever. Hell of a not-loss.