Makayla

Timpson

Dantas has been in the league’s concussion protocol since Indiana’s first practice preparing for the postseason and has missed the entirety of the Fever’s ongoing playoff run. With Dantas unavailable, Brianna Turner has played consistent rotation minutes off the bench, with rookie Makayla Timpson receiving a slight boost to her playing time.

Dantas missed the first two games of this series and will also sit out Thursday’s finale. Her absence leaves the Fever light on frontcourt depth off the bench, with Brianna Turner picking up the slack. She played 20 minutes in Tuesday’s victory, finishing with four points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one blocked shot. Makayla Timpson’s playing time has increased slightly, but Turner is the player fans should focus on for Game 3.

Dantas’ injury is just the latest in a season filled with bad luck for the Fever regarding health and player availability. The veteran forward has served as a depth piece in the frontcourt, offering floor-spacing ability. In her absence, Brianna Turner and Makayla Timpson could see more opportunities off the Fever’s bench in their Game 1 contest against the first-seeded Lynx.

Bibby is out for her third straight game as she continues to deal with discomfort and soreness in her left knee. While head coach Stephanie White initially thought this was going to be a short term injury and holding her out this past Friday was out of precaution, Bibby has remained out. Prior to Tuesday night’s game, White told reporters that she hopes Bibby will be back in practice by the end of the week. But until then, the Fever will have to deploy defensive big Brianna Turner, stretch big Damiris Dantas and rookie Makayla Timpson especially since the Storm have a larger front court.

Bibby was a late scratch prior to Friday night’s game against the Lynx. Fever head coach Stephanie White told reporters during a pregame press conference that Bibby was dealing with “soreness” and that they are holding her out as a precaution. White didn’t know the severity of the injury yet, but will learn more tomorrow. While Bibby’s injury doesn’t change who the Fever are starting against the Lynx, more will be expected out of rookie Makayla Timpson coming off the bench in addition to veteran forward Brianna Turner who hasn’t seen much time on the floor this season.

The rookie Timpson brought energy and made impact plays while her teammates were struggling to match the intensity of the Valkyries. While her impact is often on the defensive end as a rim protector and someone able to alter shots, Timpson accounted for around 16 percent of the Fever’s total offense. Timpson’s scores came on a drive, a putback, off an inbounds pass and in transition. With less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, she even scored over two smaller Valkyries defenders to finish off the first double-digit scoring outing of her WNBA career.

Brown was in the mix for the Fever’s final roster spot, along with 2025 draft pick Makayla Timpson. The 6-foot-1 guard/forward appeared in 14 games for the Wings in 2024, averaging 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per appearance. Brown being waived gets Indiana down to 11 players on its roster, meaning Timpson makes the cut.

After a stellar collegiate career at Gonzaga, Ejim was selected by Indiana with the 33rd overall pick in last month’s draft. With Jaelyn Brown and fellow 2025 draftee Makayla Timpson competing for a roster spot, Ejim faced challenging odds of making the cut with the Fever. Ejim was productive in Indiana’s exhibition win over Brazil, but the Fever are limited to 11 active roster spots instead of 12.

Indiana cutting Hall is not a surprise, as the Fever have multiple wings on the roster that hopped Hall in the rotation during the Fever’s two preseason games, including DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull, and Jaelyn Brown. The two-time national champion wing out of South Carolina did not play during the Fever’s first preseason game against the Mystics, but she did play the following day in Indiana’s preseason exhibition against Brazil. She scored nine points while shooting 4-for-9 from the field, including one three-pointer and four rebounds in 16 minutes. While that was a respectable showing, it’s worth remembering that the Fever can only carry 11 players on their opening day roster. The Fever’s final opening day roster spot will come down to either Brown, Timpson or No. 33 overall draft pick Yvonne Ejim.

A second-round pick of the Mercury in 2016, Alleyne last appeared in a WNBA game in 2021 as a member of the Mystics. The veteran center/forward logged 10 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s exhibition win over Brazil, finishing with three points, seven rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. With the Fever adding Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner during the offseason and Mikayla Timpson via the draft, Alleyne faced long odds to make the final roster.