Indiana Tops Defending Champs

STAR OF THE GAME Tamika Catchings Not only did Catchings score a season-high 25 points while guarding the WNBA's leading scorer in Diana Taurasi, but she secured Indiana's win with an offensive rebound followed by two clutch free throws. UNSUNG HERO Tan White Tan White used some timely shooting to score 17 points and give the Fever its first road win against a Western Conference opponent this season. QUOTABLE Lin Dunn In General: “Poise. I thought we played with great poise down the stretch and I thought Katie was really good at giving us a calming presence with the ball. We hit some clutch shots with the shot clock running down. I thought we played with some grit and gutted out a very hard, satisfying win.” Tamika Catchings On Getting Ready For The Game: “We all said before the game, ‘Let’s go out (last game before the break for the Olympics) with a bang. Let’s leave everything out there. Let’s leave everything on the floor and play hard 40 minutes, whatever it takes.’” HIDDEN NUMBERS Points in the paint: Fever 24, Mercury 32 Second-chance points: Fever 18, Mercury 22 Fast-break points: Fever 2, Mercury 18 Points off turnovers: Fever 15, Mercury 18 Starters scoring: Fever 83, Mercury 69 Bench scoring: Fever 5, Mercury 15

GAME REPORT
	Fever 88, Mercury 84
July 27, 2008 at US Airways Center (Phoenix, Ariz.) Box Score | WNBA Recap

PHOENIX (AP) -- Tamika Catchings scored a season-high 25 points including a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds left to help the Indiana Fever to an 88-84 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night.

WNBA scoring leader Diana Taurasi had 23 points for the defending champion Mercury, who go into the month-long Olympic break in Western Conference cellar, six games back of leader San Antonio.

Catchings, who came in averaging 10.7 points a game, hit 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, and grabbed a key offensive rebound with 13 seconds remaining after teammate Ebony Hoffman missed a 3-pointer

Tammy Sutton-Brown added 17 points and six rebounds while Tan White added 17 points for Indiana, which won for just the second time in seven games and snapped a three-game losing streak.

Cappie Pondexter, despite shooting just 7-of-19 from the field, added 21 points for the Mercury, including a 15-footer with 1:30 left to give Phoenix a brief 82-81 advantage.

White hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left to give Indiana the lead for good.