By Wheat Hotchkiss | FeverBasketball.com

The Indiana Fever have faced adversity all season, losing five players to season-ending injuries. They still found a way to go 24-20 in the regular season and earn a playoff berth.

Their resilience will once again be tested after they dropped Game 1 of the their first round series on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, falling to the Dream, 80-68.

Because of the short nature of the best-of-three series in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, the Fever will now face elimination on Tuesday night, when they host the Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Fever jumped out to an early 15-6 lead thanks to a 9-0 run early on Sunday, but that was one of few times the offense was flowing for Indiana.

The Dream gave the Fever offense issues for much of the night. They held Indiana to just 12 points in the second quarter and outscored the Fever 22-11 to open the fourth quarter and put the game away.

The Fever had one of the league’s top offenses in the regular season, ranking third in the WNBA in both points per game (84.9) and field goal percentage (45.6 percent) and fourth in 3-point percent (34.6 percent). Atlanta held Indiana well below all of those averages, as the Fever amassed just 68 points on 34.9 percent shooting and went just 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from 3-point range.

All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but only one other Fever player reached double figures (Odyssey Sims with 10 points).

“I thought we got a little stagnant,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said of Indiana’s offensive struggles. “We held the ball a little bit too much, didn’t get it moving side to side, get to multiple actions. We got a little tunnel visioned…I think we’ve got to really hone in on consistently for 40 minutes getting the ball moving.”

White, Mitchell, and Fever forward Lexie Hull all credited the Dream’s physicality as a major factor in the outcome. The Dream forced Indiana into 15 turnovers and also drew a number of pivotal fouls in the second half, including five on Fever All-Star center Aliyah Boston.

“We get momentum and then there’s four or five foul calls in a row,” White said. “They get some opportunities. I think it stopped the flow of the game. It didn’t allow us to get up and down in transition. I think that their physicality took us out of our rhythm sometimes.”

“We knew coming in it’s the playoffs, it’s going to be physical and we’re going to have to learn how to play with that,” Hull added.

The Fever found themselves in a similar position last year after they dropped their playoff opener to Connecticut. But the difference this time is that they have the opportunity to host Game 2.

The format for first round series used to be a 2-1 format with the better seed hosting the first two games. Last year, the Sun won both home games and the Fever were unable to host a playoff game.

But the WNBA switched back to a 1-1-1 format this year, meaning that Gainbridge Fieldhouse will host a postseason contest for the first time since 2016. It will be the first home playoff game for Mitchell, an eight-year veteran.

“It gives ourselves a chance to stay in the hunt,” Mitchell said about getting to play Game 2 in Indianapolis “…I would like to think that being back at home can give us a sense of comfort.”

The injury bug continued to bite the Fever even heading into the playoffs, as reserve center Damiris Dantas was unavailable on Sunday after entering the league’s concussion protocol after suffering an injury in practice earlier this week.

But the Fever have been resilient all year in the face of adversity. And White remains confident that they will rise to the occasion once again with their backs against the wall.

“I like where we are,” White said. “I’m proud of our group for continuing to fight. And we’re going to be better on Tuesday.”