UNCASVILLE, Conn. — With all the chaos of the game going on around her, Damiris Dantas was calm.
The Fever‘s backup center stayed cool through the mayhem of the first half of Indiana’s Game 1 loss to Connecticut — through rookie Caitlin Clark getting poked in the eye, coach Christie Sides getting a technical and multiple shot clock issues that hindered the Fever’s transition offense.
Those issues frustrated the young Fever. A lackluster second half, as well, led to a 93-69 loss to kick off the WNBA playoffs.
“It felt so good at the game start, but after a couple minutes after mistakes, the team stopped playing like it used to,” Dantas said. “You can’t do that against a team like Connecticut, so I feel like for the next game, just keep it moving.”
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Sunday’s game was the first playoff game for the Fever in eight years. So naturally, Indiana wasn’t experienced in the tension and turmoil of a playoff game.
Heading into the series, Fever players accounted for 19 games of playoff experience (the fewest in the league with zero from the starting lineup). In contrast, the Sun’s roster has 222 games of postseason experience, second-most in this year’s playoffs.
Dantas, who signed with the Fever this season, has the most playoff experience of any of her teammates. The 31-year-old played in eight playoff games throughout her time with the Minnesota Lynx.
While Dantas hasn’t won a WNBA championship, she has seen firsthand what it takes to work through a playoff series. And even though she isn’t a starter for the Fever, she has been a crucial veteran voice for the young team.
All five of Indiana’s starters — Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, NaLyssa Smith, Aliyah Boston — have only played for the Fever, and they have never been in a playoff environment before Sunday afternoon.
“Yeah, I have a lot of conversations (with) my teammates, after the game, before the game,” Dantas said. “I try (to) help for everything. I don’t know how long I’ll play, but I do my best on the court and outside.”
Dantas played 23 minutes — the most of any player off the bench. She mostly played at the 4, taking over some of Smith’s minutes, as she only played nine.
The veteran forward wasn’t nervous, and that led to her being the most efficient player on the court. She shot 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, for 12 points
She shared that advice with her teammates, as well.
“Just play together,” Dantas said of what she tells her teammates. “Don’t be nervous. Just enjoy the moments.”
The Sun did their best to keep the Fever uncomfortable, including putting 6-4 DeWanna Bonner as 6-foot Clark’s main guard — a switch from DiJonai Carrington in previous matchups. Carrington instead guarded Mitchell. And that switch was effective.
Clark and Mitchell, the Fever’s main offensive threats from the perimeter, were limited to just 4-of-24 shooting from 3-point range. Overall, the Fever shot just 21.7% from the perimeter — much lower than their 35% average.
“I think it starts with accountability first,” Mitchell said Sunday. “I think we all individually know when we could have done better, but I think confidence doesn’t waver. I don’t think it just drops off because it didn’t go our way. I think this is a game that’s imperfect, that has imperfections, and I think that for us, we dropped the ball, just didn’t play well. We didn’t do well enough to win at least. And I think going forward, you keep your confidence. You take accountability, as a player and as a team, and look forward to Wednesday.”
The Sun are now up 1-0 in the best-of-3 series and could clinch as early as Wednesday on their home court.
The Fever, regardless of it being the first playoff series for most, know they could’ve done better to start the series. And they know how to improve to try and take a game on the road on Wednesday.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Damiris Dantas has playoff experience, advice for young Fever teammates
