White, Catchings Hit Big Shots Late In Win Over Washington

STAR OF THE GAME TAMIKA WHITMORE Whitmore led Indiana with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 11 in the fourth quarter. It was the fifth time this season Whitmore scored better than 20 in a game. UNSUNG HERO TAN WHITE White had nine points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Fever. Her 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter gave Indiana the lead for good. QUOTABLE BRIAN WINTERS On a tough game: “That was a great toughness win, both physically and mentally. We had some adversity traveling, and we got back to defense and rebounding – those are our staples. This was a big win.” On hitting big shots late: “[Washington] played a box-and-1 on Tamika [Catchings], and the more we saw it, the better we got at attacking it. We were able to get the ball inside and that’s what we wanted to do.” HIDDEN NUMBERS Points in the paint: Fever 20, Mystics 34 Second-chance points: Fever 6, Mystics 2 Fast-break points: Fever 8, Mystics 16 Points off turnovers: Fever 16, Mystics 17 Starters scoring: Fever 60, Mystics 59 Bench scoring: Fever 14, Mystics 8

GAME REPORT
	Fever 74, Mystics 67
June 27, 2006 at the Verizon Center (Washington, D.C.) Box Score | WNBA Recap

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tan White’s 3-point shot midway through the fourth quarter broke a tie at 48-all, an advantage Indiana would never relinquish in a 74-67 victory over the Washington Mystics in the Verizon Center Tuesday night. The win was the second consecutive over Washington and improved Indiana’s record to 8-2 versus Eastern Conference opponents this season.

Tuesday was the first time that Washington, which entered the game as the league’s second-highest scoring team, failed to reach 80 points at home. The loss was also the first at home for the Mystics this season.

Tamika Whitmore scored better than 20 points for the fifth time this season, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting as the Fever improved its record to 11-5. Tamika Catchings had 15, while reserve guard Tan White contributed nine points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Fever.

Alana Beard scored a game-high 24 points for Washington, shooting 11-of-14 from the floor. Nikki Teasley had 14 points, including three from downtown, and added a game-high seven assists for the Mystics, which fell to 8-6 with the loss.

Leading 6-4 early in the first quarter, the Fever would use a 14-0 run to take a commanding 16-point advantage. A Catchings 3-pointer put Indiana in front 20-4 late in the first.

Beard hit a pair of jumpers to open the second quarter for Washington as the game’s momentum started to swing. After opening the game hitting five of its first seven shot attempts, including three 3-pointers, Indiana went just 6-of-25 for the remainder of the half.

Trailing 28-15, the Mystics went on a 10-0 run in the final three minutes of the second quarter to cut the Fever’s lead down to just three, 28-25, at halftime. After netting 22 first quarter points, Indiana was outscored 17-6 in the second. Beard led all scorers with ten at intermission, including eight in the second quarter. Indiana, though, never trailed in the first half.

After Washington took its first lead of the game midway through the third quarter, Linda Frohlich hit a 3-pointer to put Indiana back in front, 41-39. Frohlich had five points off the bench for the Fever.

Indiana would go on a 12-2 run, including seven unanswered, after Crystal Robinson had given the Mystics a 46-43 lead following her only 3-pointer of the game. With the game tied midway through the fourth quarter, White dropped a 3-point shot before Tully Bevilaqua’s free throws gave Indiana a five-point lead, 53-48.

Washington cut Indiana’s lead back down to three with just over one minute left in the game. But Catchings, who had been frustrated after seeing a box-and-one defense played against her for most of the night, was able to sink her second 3-pointer of the game to extend Indiana’s lead to six at 64-58.