Mystics-Fever Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Sep 06 2011 3:26PM

Locked in a tight race for the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Fever know they control their own destiny.

The Fever can clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs Wednesday night by completing a season sweep of the visiting Washington Mystics.

Indiana (20-11) is trying to hold off surging Connecticut for the East's top spot. The Fever ended a three-game slide with Sunday's 88-80 victory at Chicago.

"We have been a first-place team, but Connecticut is on a run here," coach Lin Dunn said. "We have a lot of teams playing really well, so we really needed to win this game, plus we were coming off some tough losses."

Dunn's team only needs one more win to wrap up the home-court edge in the opening round because it's 2 1/2 games ahead of New York and Atlanta, which are tied for third place in the East.

Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas scored 17 points apiece Sunday as Indiana placed four players in double figures.

"Coming off of three losses, I think, just to come out and have a great performance that was No. 1 on our minds right now and I think going into the playoffs, just trying to get that playoff mentality," Catchings said. "We don't want to focus on where you stand in the standings because at the end of the day it really doesn't matter when you get to the playoffs. It is a matter of going into the playoffs with the right mentality."

Indiana notched its sixth 20-win campaign in seven seasons. Los Angeles is the only other franchise to accomplish that, doing so between 1999-2006.

The Fever are 4-0 against Washington (6-26), winning twice at home by a combined 43 points. Catchings hasn't been needed to put up gaudy numbers in the season series, averaging 13.5 points.

The Mystics have lost a season-high seven straight on the road and turned in an awful performance Sunday in their final home game. They set season lows for points and field-goal percentage (26.9) in a 79-48 loss to Connecticut.

"I think we are physically and mentally tired, three games in four days with a short bench," coach Trudi Lacey said.

Star forward Crystal Langhorne made 4 of 13 shots for the second straight game and scored 10 points - 8.5 below her average.

"I felt all season that we have competed and we have fought through and overcome a lot of obstacles and challenges," Lacey said. "Today it just didn't feel like we competed."

Fever beat Mystics 87-69, clinch No. 1 seed

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Sep 07 2011 10:26PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Katie Douglas' revitalized shooting touch helped the Indiana Fever clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference.

The All-Star scored 21 points to help the Indiana Fever beat the Washington Mystics 87-69 on Wednesday night. It was her highest scoring game since July 13.

``I'm just staying aggressive,'' she said. ``I'm trying to get myself ready for the playoffs and not taking a back seat.''

Douglas' effort followed her 17-point outing in a win over Chicago on Sunday. Getting her into an offensive rhythm has been a focus for the Fever.

``We're running a lot of things for me with the ball in my hands as either a scorer or distributor, reading the 'D,''' she said. ``I'm trying to mix it up because the 'D' is going to close out extremely hard around the 3-point line.''

Connecticut can match Indiana's record, but the Fever have the tiebreaker because of a 3-2 advantage in the head-to-head matchup this season.

The last time Indiana had the top record in the East, the Fever reached the 2009 WNBA finals. Indiana is one win short of tying the franchise record for victories in a season with two games remaining.

Tamika Catchings had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Tammy Sutton-Brown added a season-high 15 points for the Fever (21-11).

Crystal Langhorne had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Washington (6-27), which has lost 12 of 13.

``We have to put two halves together,'' Washington center DeMya Walker said. ``This time, we fought hard at the end, but at the end of the day we have to finish.''

Indiana shot 46 percent from the field and scored 24 points off 18 Washington turnovers.

The Fever squandered a 13-point lead in the first half, and Washington led 37-36 at the break.

``It wasn't (easy), and we knew it wouldn't be,'' Catchings said. ``I think we started the game out really well and then lost our focus a little bit, so it's definitely something that we have to continue to play off of.''

The Fever came out hot in the second half. Four different players scored during a 9-0 run that gave Indiana a 45-37 lead and forced a Washington timeout.

The Fever increased their lead to 51-40 on a three-point play by Catchings. Indiana stretched the lead to 59-44, but Washington scored seven points in less than a minute to force an Indiana timeout.

Langhorne made a layup and was fouled by Catchings as time expired in the third quarter. The officials checked to see if she got the shot off before the end of the quarter and decided that she didn't. They said the foul came before the quarter ended, and Langhorne made the second of two free throws to cut Indiana's lead to 64-58 at the end of the period.

Indiana led by three when Washington's Marissa Coleman missed a 3-pointer. The Fever rebounded and Erin Phillips made a 3-pointer at the other end to push Indiana's lead to six points. Indiana went up double digits again on a pullup jumper by Phillips from near the free-throw line, and the Fever remained in control the rest of the way.

``I felt like in the second half, I thought you saw a really tough Fever team say, 'hey wait a minute, we're going to win this ball game,' and we took it up another notch and really turned it on in the second half,'' Indiana coach Lin Dunn said.

Now, Indiana has a chance to rest players if necessary. Phillips sprained her left ankle when she stepped on Langhorne's foot. She will not play at New York and may not play Sunday against Atlanta as a precautionary measure.

The Fever want to enter the playoffs the right way. Their final two regular-season games are against New York and Atlanta, both possible playoff opponents.

``We definitely want to be at our top game, rolling, in a good rhythm and being sharp,'' Douglas said. ``Standing-wise, they're not going to affect us, but we can use these two games to our advantage and get better and get ready for the playoffs.''

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

• Mystics: --
• Fever: --

• Mystics: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #8 Daryl Humphrey, #28 Angelica Suffren, #55 Eric Brewton
• Attendance: 8514
• Duration: 1:55