Latest news with #NatashaHoward
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Can Fever still be a contender this season? 'You see it in spurts,' but that's not enough
BROOKLYN – For nearly three quarters, the Indiana Fever were in a rhythm. They were going shot-for-shot with the New York Liberty, the reigning champions and one of the best teams in the league. They had seven steals and forced 11 turnovers by halftime, leading by as many as seven points in the third quarter. Then, as quickly as they had it, they lost it. Starting around the three-minute mark of the third quarter, New York went on a 29-8 run over nine minutes of game time. They limited the Fever to just two field goals during that stretch, all while easily creating space for their own shots. 'I feel like they didn't really feel us in the second half like they felt us in the first half,' Fever forward Natasha Howard said after Tuesday's 98-84 loss. 'We let them take quick shots, and that let them get easy buckets on the offensive end, and we really didn't pay attention to the personnel, we really struggled with that. But New York is a really good team, a championship team for a reason.' These second-half breakdowns have become an unfortunate theme for the Fever. They'll start strong in the first half, bring a lead into halftime, build it up midway through the third quarter, then fall apart. It happened in San Francisco, when a 13-point third-quarter lead turned into an 11-point loss on June 19; again in Las Vegas, when an eight-point lead in the third turned into a seven-point loss on June 22; and a third time against Los Angeles on June 26, as a 10-point third quarter lead pivoted to a 10-point loss. Amid roster changes and injuries, the Fever can't seem to consistently put a full 40-minute game together. They've had some big wins, including the Commissioner's Cup over Minnesota (which doesn't count in league standings) and their first win over Las Vegas since 2019 on July 3, but that doesn't cover for the games where they have the win in their grasp, then flail. 'The difference in championship-caliber teams are those two or three minutes in a ballgame,' Fever coach Stephanie White said. 'You can't have the miscommunications, you can't have the breakdowns, you can't have the poor shot selection, playing outside yourself. Whatever it may be. Games and series are won and lost in those small margins.' So, that begs the question: after a lot of preseason hype, are the Fever actually championship contenders? Ahead of the season, national media had the Fever high on their championship boards. Taking into account the acquisitions Indiana made, like 16-year veteran DeWanna Bonner and three-time champion Natasha Howard, and the talent they were able to retain in eight-year veteran Kelsey Mitchell, a lot of people thought Indiana could contend alongside New York and Minnesota. That was even something star Caitlin Clark characterized as success for the Fever this season: 'a championship.' For multiple reasons, those talks have cooled since the season has gone on. Clark, who was in preseason MVP talks, has missed 11 games so far this season with various muscle injuries. Bonner only played nine games for the Fever before requesting a trade, and she was waived less than halfway through the season. 'That's for everybody else to discuss if we were really going to be a contender or not,' White said. 'Certainly, there's no substitute for experience, and Tash and Syd (Colson) are the ones that have championship-caliber experience. I do think the disruption, and players playing in different positions because of that disruption, hasn't allowed the continuity as much as we like, but you see it in spurts.' The Fever have only had four games where they had their entire roster — including Aari McDonald, a midseason signee after Bonner was waived — so far this season. And it may be a while, if at all this season, that they'll have their full roster back, depending on the severity of Clark's right groin injury. The standard for a successful year for the Fever may have wavered since the beginning of the season. Right now, at 12-12, they're tied for sixth in the standings and in the fight to keep a playoff spot. Still, they know the margin of error is low. And, injuries aside, they know they need to improve. 'I don't think we have wiggle room to figure out anything else,' said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 29 points Tuesday. 'It's a gut-check game every game. Everybody's trying to make the playoffs, everybody's trying to be a contender for something, and I think it all comes down to who's going to be the tougher team for 40 minutes.'
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Without Caitlin Clark, Fever were pushing Liberty. Then defending champs pushed them aside in 2nd half
BROOKLYN – The Indiana Fever officially squandered the season series to New York on Tuesday night, as a seven-point second-half lead turned into a 98-84 loss. The Fever will finish the regular season 1-3 against the Liberty, giving New York precedence on any potential tiebreakers that could come later in the season. This loss pushes the Fever to 12-12 on the season, tied for sixth in the WNBA standings. Kelsey Mitchell finished with a game-high 29 points, while Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston each had 13. The Fever will return to Indianapolis to play Las Vegas on Thursday. Caitlin Clark missed the game with a right groin injury. Her return date remains uncertain after visiting with doctors Tuesday. Here are two observations: For a while, Indiana was holding its own against the reigning champions. The Fever led by four at halftime, recording seven steals and forcing 11 turnovers in the first half. That lead got up to seven points late in the third quarter, and the Fever seemed to be in a rhythm. Then, the Liberty found another gear. New York went on a 29-8 run over 10 minutes between the third and fourth quarters, and the Fever went from leading, 67-60, to trailing by double digits, 89-75. Indiana also didn't make a basket in six minutes throughout that stretch, allowing the Liberty to quickly build on that lead. Staying consistent in the second half is something the Fever have struggled with this season; they've had multiple games where they bring a significant lead into the third quarter, but fall apart in the second half. This, again, was one of those games. Fever star Caitlin Clark missed her second straight game and 11th overall so far this season while recovering from her latest muscle injury. Clark strained her right groin on July 15 against Connecticut, marking her fourth muscle injury of the season. She had to pull out of All-Star activities, including the 3-point contest and All-Star Game in Indianapolis, because of the injury. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark was meeting with doctors on Monday and Tuesday to get additional opinions on her injury. Clark made the trip to New York with the team for Tuesday's game. White didn't have an update on Clark's injury or a recovery timeline pregame, adding she met with a doctor Tuesday morning. The Fever did not specify if that doctor was in New York, saying they would not comment specifically on doctors visits. Clark was still an active participant from the bench, talking during huddles and timeouts and standing on the sideline to watch at times. While on the bench, she sat on a blue cushion; Sophie Cunningham and Natasha Howard used those cushions at times, as well.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
NY Liberty Doctor: Sports Can Help Us Treat Pregnancy
Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty shoots a basket while Natasha Howard #6 of the Indiana Fever defends during the first half at Barclays Center on July 16, 2025 in Brooklyn, New York. Credit - Ishika Samant—Getty Images I treat professional athletes for a living. I'm the primary care sports medicine doctor for the New York Liberty. As a former Division I athlete myself, I'm honored to remain connected to the sport I love—and treat some of the world's most elite players. I know I've been tasked with caring for a historically marginalized population at a time when the healthcare system is finally starting to value female athletes. I take this responsibility seriously—and coordinate care year-round for the team, treating everything from acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries to sore throats and earaches. But after the birth of my second child, I found myself on the other side of the exam table—trying to manage diastasis recti, a postpartum condition where the abdominal muscles separate, causing pain and weakness. Even with world-class care and clinical training, I'm still on the mend eight months later. That makes me one of the lucky ones. Most women don't have access to the resources I do and they're left navigating complex, often painful recoveries on their own. The reality is pregnancy affects nearly every organ system, yet most women receive little to no guidance on how to protect or rebuild their health. Our healthcare system waits for problems and then scrambles to respond. It rarely works to prevent them. We're long overdue for a shift to a proactive model of perinatal care—care that supports women before, during, and after pregnancy—and integrates musculoskeletal medicine, physical therapy, and science is clear. Pelvic floor and core-strengthening exercises can significantly reduce the risk of wide-ranging complications, including urinary incontinence, severe perineal tears, diastasis recti, and low back pain. These interventions also improve delivery outcomes by increasing the likelihood of vaginal delivery and shortening the second stage of labor. General exercise, even at lower intensities, is a proven preventive tool. Just 140 minutes of prenatal exercise weekly can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes by 25%. Women who exercise more than three times per week for 25 minutes have a 39% lower risk of developing gestational hypertension, which can progress to preeclampsia. Exercise also helps manage excess weight gain during pregnancy, which is linked to a host of issues, from birth canal trauma to more complicated postpartum recovery. And it has been shown to improve overall mental health—an important consideration, given that perinatal depression affects "approximately 1 in 7 people during pregnancy or within the first year after childbirth." Resistance training, in particular, can be highly beneficial when properly modified. Women who continue these routines during pregnancy are more likely to have the foundational strength to continue them safely and confidently after birth. Those who stop often face greater hurdles getting back. And providing holistic healthcare during the postpartum stage matters just as much. Regular physical activity after childbirth supports a smoother recovery by improving cardiovascular fitness, reducing depressive symptoms, enhancing sleep quality, and promoting overall physical and psychological well-being. Experts recommend 150-300 minutes of moderate activity per week postpartum, along with strength training and stretching. Yet this evidence still isn't reflected in standard care. Too often, healthcare professionals only intervene when something goes wrong. And it's on women to seek out pelvic floor physical therapy, find out which movements are safe, or identify the right specialists. Many don't know where to begin—and many OB/GYNs aren't equipped to guide them. That leaves countless women isolated, misinformed, or resigned to believe that chronic discomfort is simply part of motherhood. That's what I set out to change after the birth of my first child. I helped launch a perinatal program at the Hospital for Special Surgery (one of the country's largest women's sports medicine centers) to bring proactive, integrated medicine into the pregnancy and postpartum experience. The term "sports medicine" is really a misnomer; the goal isn't just to treat athletes, but to help people recover and stay strong through major life transitions. We should think of it as "movement medicine."At HSS, we've built a model that connects women with physical therapists, nutritionists, and physicians trained to support every stage, from preconception to postpartum. And we're not alone. Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston has built a similarly comprehensive model, integrating musculoskeletal and wellness care into routine perinatal services. This scalable, evidence-based approach should be available to all women. It's time other healthcare systems followed suit and abandoned outdated protocols. The standard six-week postpartum visit is too late to identify emerging issues, let alone intervene. During pregnancy, support is often limited to monitoring the baby's development, with relatively little attention paid to the mother's health unless overt complications arise. That's a failure of care. Many barriers are solvable. One persistent myth is that pelvic floor therapy or nutritional support aren't covered by insurance. In reality, they often are when doctors provide diagnoses such as "weak pelvic floor" for pelvic floor therapy or "dietary counseling" for nutrition. Our team works within these frameworks every day. The issue isn't feasibility. What's missing is awareness and a healthcare culture that prioritizes proactive care over damage control. Physicians, especially those in systems with movement medicine or women's health expertise, must lead the shift in the standard of care. OB/GYNs aren't always trained to recognize musculoskeletal issues or connect patients to the right specialists. It's on us to change that—to ensure providers are informed, and patients feel supported from the start. As a physician, I know this model works. As a mother, I know how desperately it's needed. It's time to support women with the comprehensive perinatal care they've always deserved. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Natasha Howard talks seeing Jaylen Brown courtside for Fever vs. Sun
Natasha Howard talks seeing Jaylen Brown courtside for Fever vs. Sun originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Game Recap: Fever 74, Lynx 59
Natasha Howard went for a double 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana to their 1st WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship over Minnesota, 74-59.
