Injuries and struggles on the road prevented the Indiana Fever from playing well consistently in the first half of the season. A matchup with the Washington Mystics could help them buck that trend.

Hoping to win three straight games for the first time this year, the Fever go for their sixth straight win against the Mystics on Tuesday night when the clubs square off at the Verizon Center.

Indiana (9-8) is above .500 at the midpoint of the regular season despite never having won more than two consecutive games. The Fever's inconsistent play is partially due to a 2-6 road record and a heel injury that sidelined five-time All-Star forward Tamika Catchings for the first eight games.

With Catchings returning to form after rejoining the team in mid-June, however, Indiana has won back-to-back contests to put them in position for their first three-game win streak of 2008.

If their recent history against the Mystics (6-11) is any indication, the Fever have to like their chances of extending their run. Indiana won all four of its games against Washington last year, including two victories at the Verizon Center, where Indiana is 3-0 since a 61-60 loss Aug. 7, 2005.

The Fever also took their first meeting with the Mystics in 2008 in their season opener May 17, winning 64-53 behind 24 points from forward Katie Douglas.

Douglas had 18 points and Tully Bevilaqua added a season-high 17 while going 5-for-5 from 3-point range to help Indiana beat Connecticut 81-74 on Saturday night. The Fever, who are second-to-last in the league behind the Mystics with 18.3 turnovers per game, committed a season-low 10 in the victory.

"When we take care of the ball, it helps us move our offense," Fever coach Lin Dunn said.

The Mystics hope to force a few more errors as they try to snap a three-game losing streak. They've been outscored by an average of 9.7 points during the skid, which continued with an 83-75 loss to San Antonio on Sunday.

The defeat overshadowed another strong performance from fifth-year guard Alana Beard, who had 20 points with three 3-pointers. Beard is averaging 19.5 points and shooting 45.9 percent from beyond the arc - both career bests - but the Mystics are on pace for their worst finish since their 9-25 2003 season.

"Keep fighting, keep fighting," Beard said when asked what the Mystics can do to stop their current slide. "I don't doubt that everyone is playing hard and that we are playing with effort. I would never question that. But it's a matter of us communicating and getting stops. We need stops."

Beard missed Washington's season opener against Indiana because of a shoulder injury.