| STAR OF THE GAME |
Shay Murphy
Once Tamika Catchings got her third foul in the first half, Murphy stepped in admirably. She dove for loose balls and crashed the boards setting the tone for the Fever the rest of the game. Murphy led the Fever with seven rebounds, including four offensive. Both of Murphy's highest scoring nights of the season have occured against the Sky, scoring 15 points July 10, and 13 points tonight.
|
UNSUNG HERO |
Tamecka Dixon
Dixon stepped in with Murphy once Catchings got in foul trouble, showcasing her veteran leadership by helping to control the tempo. Her six points and six rebounds were key to the Fever victory.
|
QUOTABLE |
Lin Dunn
In general:
“I was really impressed with the contribution of all our players. I can't say enough about Murphy (Shay) coming off the bench. We made adjustments at halftime and we responded. We got good minutes from out bench. With our upcoming schedule, our bench will be even more important. Our bench is the best bench in my time here."
|
Tully Bevilaqua
in general:
“An ugly win is better than an ugly loss. We were very sluggish the first half. We got huge help from the bench. Shay Murphy played big tonight. We have a tough three game road trip and we can’t come out like we did tonight against Phoenix. We need to be mentally ready to step it up against Phoenix.”
|
HIDDEN NUMBERS |
Points in the paint:
Fever 32, Sky 40
Second-chance points:
Fever 16, Sky 12
Fast-break points:
Fever 10, Sky 5
Points off turnovers:
Fever 17, Sky 8
Starters scoring:
Fever 51, Sky 53
Bench scoring:
Fever 25, Sky 14
|
|
| Team |
Record |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Chicago |
10-11 |
16 |
17 |
12 |
22 |
67 |
| at Indiana |
16-4 |
16 |
18 |
17 |
25 |
76 |
INDIANAPOLIS -- Katie Douglas scored 14 points, and the Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 76-67 on Wednesday night to improve to 16-4, matching their own 2007 record for the best 20-game start in Eastern Conference history.
The Fever increased their home winning streak to 11 games and improved to 4-0 since the All-Star break.
Candice Dupree had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Sky (10-11).
The Fever led 34-33 at halftime after shooting 32 percent.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Tamika Catchings, Douglas and Tully Bevilaqua early in the third quarter increased Indiana's lead to 10 at 45-35. Chicago cut it to 49-45 late in the period, but the Fever responded with a 13-2 run to take control for good.
Game Notes
With today's win, the Fever has extended its franchise record home winning streak to 11 in a row.
With a mark of 16-4 this season, the Fever has matched the best 20-game record ever for an Eastern Conference team. Indiana set this standard in 2007.
The Fever has won all three meetings with the Sky in 2009, tying its longest winning streak ever vs. Chicago. Since a loss to the Sky in August 2006 (8/13), the Fever has won six straight home games vs. Chicago and has won eight of 10 in the series, overall.
Ebony Hoffman's assist tonight was the 200th of her career and she is just the sixth player in Fever history to hand out 200 or more assists in an Indiana uniform.
The Fever committed a season-low 10 turnovers tonight and had just two in the fourth quarter.
With 19 points and 13 rebounds, Candice Dupree registered her fifth double-double of the season, tying her with Atlanta's Erika de Souza for the league lead.
Including three from Jessica Moore and two each from Ebony Hoffman and Tamecka Dixon, the Fever had 10 steals tonight. The Fever has had double-digit thefts 13 times in 20 games this season.
Scoring in double figures for the second time this season, Shay Murphy led the Indiana bench with 13 points. Murphy added a season-high seven rebounds to lead the Fever.
Tamecka Dixon also had a season-high in rebounds with six.
Including the Sky's 40 tonight, the Fever's opposition has scored 40+ points in the paint in each of the last three games. In the season's first 17 outings, the opposition scored 40+ points in the paint just one time. Indiana's 32 points in the paint matched its highest of the last eight games and Indiana has scored 30+ points in the paint just seven times.
The Fever tied a season-high with 15 offensive rebounds tonight, including a season-high four each from Shay Murphy and Ebony Hoffman.
