Fever-Sky Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Aug 06 2011 3:51PM

A suffocating defense has keyed the Indiana Fever during their current winning streak.

This doesn't bode well for the Chicago Sky, who set a WNBA record for scoring futility in their last game.

The surging Fever look to win their sixth in a row and continue their dominance over the Sky as they meet Sunday night at Allstate Arena.

Indiana (15-6) is limiting opponents to a league-low 40.9 percent field goal percentage and is second in the WNBA in scoring defense at 71.8 points per game. Its defense has been even better lately.

After allowing an average of 80.0 points during a three-game losing streak, the Fever are giving up an average of 61.6 points in winning their last five, yielding 65 or fewer in each.

In Friday's 85-65 easy win over woeful Tulsa, much of the Shock's scoring came after the game was out of reach. The Fever held Tulsa to 38.1 percent shooting in the contest and led 69-43 after three quarters.

"We dug in and played great defense," said Jessica Davenport, who had a team-best 17 points. "We have some things to work on from the inside but when we play at a high energy level defensively, it's hard for teams to keep up with us for 40 minutes.''

It could be tough for the Sky to keep up for 10 minutes.

Chicago (9-12) finished with a WNBA-record one point in the fourth quarter of Thursday's 59-49 loss to New York. The Sky, who led 48-43 after three periods, missed all 10 shots from the field and had nine turnovers in the fourth in losing for fourth time in five games.

"We just weren't doing what we needed to do,'' said Sylvia Fowles, who had a team-best 11 points. "The defensive pressure picked up in the fourth quarter and we just couldn't handle it. ... We didn't get what we normally get like in the first three quarters, and that's what happens when you don't progress in the fourth quarter.''

Putting together a better performance against Indiana won't be easy.

The Fever's five-game winning streak began with a 77-63 home victory over the Sky on July 21. Indiana, which also defeated Chicago 65-57 in each team's season opener June 4, has won seven straight in the series since an 86-79 loss on Sept. 10, 2009. The Fever are 18-4 all-time against the Sky.

In addition to its stingy defense, a deep bench is also leading Indiana in its pursuit of the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Fever's bench scored 45 points against Tulsa after setting a franchise record with 57 in last Sunday's 98-63 victory over Los Angeles.

"One of our keys is for the bench to come in and give the starters a break each and every game," reserve Shavonte Zellous said.

Davenport, third on the Fever in scoring at 12.8 points per game, had a team-best 20 off the bench against the Sky 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Fowles, one of the league's top scorers at 19.3 points, scored 21 in the last meeting, but the rest of the Chicago starters combined for 16 points.

Fowles, Murphy lead Sky past Fever

Posted Aug 07 2011 11:45PM

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Shay Murphy also scored a career-high 21 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Indiana Fever 88-69 on Sunday.

Cathrine Kraayeveld added 12 points and Tamera Young had 10 for the Sky (10-12), who had lost seven straight against the Fever. Chicago shot 50 percent (8 for 16) on 3-pointers.

``It just felt good to knock down shots and stay aggressive,'' Murphy said. ``Offensively, we knew that they would be collapsing on Syl. It was great to get some open looks and take care of business on both ends of the floor.''

Katie Douglas scored 14 points and Tangela Smith had 10 for first-place Indiana (15-7), which had won six straight overall. Fever starTamika Catchings was held to eight points - 6.2 below her average - on 2-for-6 shooting.

``Chicago is very good, it does not surprise me at all as hard as they played they are playing for a playoff spot,'' Fever coach Lin Dunn said. ``They outworked us, outhustled us, they beat us up and down the floor and I am very disappointed in our effort, very disappointed in our energy.

``They played like a team they wants a playoff spot and we played like a team that is resting waiting for the playoffs.''

Chicago led 35-34 at halftime and used a big third quarter to take command. Kraayeveld hit a three 3-pointers to help the Sky to a 60-47 lead by the end of the third.

Chicago led by as many as 16 points in the final quarter and only once saw its lead slip under double digits.

``It was very nice to be at home, versus a good team that we have not played well against,'' Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. ``They pose some matchup problems, but it was nice to see our players adjust to some of those problems.''

Fowles had 15 points and eight rebounds by halftime, including the final three points of the second quarter as the Sky led by one.

``We just need to continue to tell ourselves to lock in mentally, slow down, and take care of the ball,'' Fowles said.

The Sky made only 1 of their first 8 shots to start the game while Indiana opened a 12-6 lead. But Chicago dominated the final 2:03 with a 12-0 run to hold an 18-15 lead entering the second quarter.

The Fever came into the game with two wins over the Sky, seven straight in the series and an 18-4 advantage all-time.

Sunday's game was the 200th straight for Sky starter Michelle Snow, the 16th longest streak in WNBA history.

• Fever: --
• Sky: --

• Fever: --
• Sky: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
• Officials: #55 Eric Brewton, #28 Angelica Suffren, #34 Maj Forsberg
• Attendance: 5794
• Duration: 1:54