Even without Tamika Catchings in the lineup, the Indiana Fever had no trouble easily defeating the Connecticut Sun earlier this season in a rematch of the first round of last year's playoffs.

Coming off her best game since returning from a torn Achilles' tendon, Catchings looks to follow up that performance as the Fever meet the league-leading Sun on Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

In the first meeting since Indiana defeated Connecticut in the postseason, the Fever (8-8) routed the Sun 75-46 on May 27 behind 23 points from former Connecticut forward Katie Douglas.

Catchings, who tore her right Achilles' tendon against Detroit in the East finals, was not in the lineup while still recovering from surgery.

Catchings made her season debut on June 2, and is averaging 10.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in eight games. Coming off the bench, she tallied a season-high 18 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 74-67 win over Chicago on Wednesday.

"I definitely feel like I'm getting back," said Catchings, who averaged 19.7 points and 15.3 rebounds in three playoff games against the Sun last year. "Every day is a process, it's one step closer to where I want to be. Coming in today, I just felt really good."

The win helped the Fever avoid their third straight loss. Indiana is tied for in third in the East, four games behind the first-place Sun, who have alternated wins and losses their last five games.

Connecticut is coming off a 78-68 win over Houston on Tuesday. Asjha Jones scored 15 points and had eight rebounds, while Lindsey Whalen added 14 points and nine assists to set a new franchise record with 744 in her career

The Sun (13-5) were held to 12 points in the first quarter and trailed by eight at the half, but they rebounded in the third quarter by outscoring Houston 25-13, and overcame technical fouls issued to Whalen, Jones and Tamika Whitmore.

"They fired us up," said Jones, who leads the team with 16.4 points this season. "After they happened, we started to play better individually and as a team."

The Sun continue to have the WNBA's best record despite their recent inconsistency. Saturday's contest begins a three-game road trip for Connecticut, which plays five of its remaining eight games in July away from home.

The Sun are the only East team with a winning road record at 5-3.

Connecticut lost both playoff games at Conseco Fieldhouse last year, but had won five straight regular season games there prior.