Road Struggles Continue For The Fever In Detroit

STAR OF THE GAME TAMIKA WHITMORE Whitmore finished with a game-high 19 points and four assists. She scored 11 points in the first quarter alone for the Fever and was 8-of-8 from the foul line in the game. UNSUNG HERO ANNA DEFORGE DeForge had 15 points in the game, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor including three 3-pointers. QUOTABLE BRIAN WINTERS In general: “[Detroit] won the battle on the boards pretty decidedly. We are usually a pretty good rebounding team, but they got 15 offensive rebounds to our five, and they scored 36 points in the paint to just 14 for us. That pretty much tells the tale of the tape.” On Tamika Whitmore: “Whit has been an excellent player for us. She rebounds, she scores, she guards, that’s about all you can ask of someone.” HIDDEN NUMBERS Points in the paint: Fever 14, Shock 36 Second-chance points: Fever 11, Shock 13 Fast-break points: Fever 2, Shock 10 Points off turnovers: Fever 16, Shock 11 Starters scoring: Fever 50, Shock 57 Bench scoring: Fever 13, Shock 14

GAME REPORT
	Shock 71, Fever 63
June 16, 2006 at the Palace of Auburn Hills (Auburn Hills, MI) Box Score | WNBA Recap

AUBURN HILLS, MI – In what was a tight game for two-plus quarters, the Fever was outscored 22-12 to close out the third quarter before dropping a 71-63 decision to the Detroit Shock at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The loss dropped Indiana’s record to 7-4 on the season, while Detroit improved its mark to 5-4. All four of the Fever's losses have come on the road.

Tamika Whitmore had a game-high 19 points and four assists for Indiana. Anna DeForge followed with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Fever star Tamika Catchings was held to just three points and shot 1-of-10 from the field.

The Shock had four starters in double figures, led by Cheryl Ford who finished with 15 points and had a season-high 18 rebounds. Katie Smith had 13, while Swin Cash contributed 12 points and a game-high eight assists.

Trailing 4-0 early in the first quarter, the Fever would go on a 12-1 run to take a seven point lead at 12-5. Detroit, however, used a 9-2 run to close out the period before knotting the score at 17 after one. Whitmore scored 11 first quarter points, while DeForge netted six on a pair of 3-pointers.

Already playing with two first quarter fouls, Catchings picked up her third on an offensive foul call with 11.3 seconds left in the period. As a result, Catchings didn’t see the floor again until the third quarter.

The second stanza saw five ties and nine lead changes with neither team able build a substantial lead. Detroit would go on to score the last five points of the second to take its biggest lead of the half, 36-32, at intermission.

The Fever would keep it close early in the third quarter. A DeForge jumper pulled Indiana to within two of the Shock, 46-44. However, that is the closest the margin would be for the duration of the game.

Detroit took control of the game late in the third quarter, going on a 14-4 run to end the period. Smith's 3-pointer gave the Shock its first double-digit of the game before a Cash break-away lay-up extended the Shock's lead to 60-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Fever trailed by as many as 15 points in the final period before dropping the fourth out of its past five road games.