Dream-Fever Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Sep 10 2011 4:26PM

The Indiana Fever have secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they probably don't want to face the Atlanta Dream in the first round.

Those two teams will close the regular season against each other Sunday as the Dream look to complete a four-game sweep.

Indiana's spot atop the conference is the only one that has been decided in the East, with the other three seeds to be determined Sunday.

Atlanta (19-14) is tied with New York for third place. The Dream would clinch the third spot with a loss by the Liberty earlier in the afternoon to Connecticut or a win in their own game.

If both teams win, which would mean three teams finish 20-14, Atlanta would end up as the No. 4 seed by way of the tiebreaking procedure for three teams.

A fourth-place finish might not be the worst thing for the Dream, who would face the Fever in the first round. Atlanta has won all three meetings this season.

Angel McCoughtry came up big in the last one, scoring 28 points in a 92-90 win Aug. 30. A leading MVP candidate, McCoughtry is averaging 21.3 points this season - second in the league to Phoenix's Diana Taurasi - and has scored 28 or more in three of her last five games.

Atlanta has won three in a row overall and six of seven, and could be facing an Indiana team that may be resting a lot of its starters.

After securing the top seed in their previous game, the Fever (21-12) got out to a lackluster start against New York on Friday and lost 83-75. They scored 35 first-half points and were outrebounded 30-19.

Erin Phillips did not play after spraining her ankle versus Washington in the previous game and with nothing on the line Sunday, it seems likely she and other key Indiana players could get some rest.

Phillips' injury meant additional playing time for Shannon Bobbitt, who had a career-high 16 points, seven assists and four steals. She went 4 of 4 from beyond the arc.

"I knew that I had to step up my game and play a bigger role," Bobbitt said.

McCoughtry isn't the only MVP candidate in Sunday's game.

Indiana's Tamika Catchings is having a great season as well, averaging 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Despite not having a win to show for it, she's been even better against Atlanta, averaging 21.3 points.

"Her effort is unmatched," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "Whether she is scoring or rebounding or getting a big steal or a block, she makes big plays every time on the floor."

Unsurprisingly, Dream coach Marynell Meadors said her vote would go to McCoughtry, who scored 35 points in an 85-74 win over Connecticut on Tuesday.

"It's no question that she is having an MVP season," Meadors said. "She's playing her game within our offensive and defensive structure. She's really focused in on helping this team win games."

Dream 93, Fever 88

Posted Sep 11 2011 8:44PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Atlanta Dream had a modest goal on the last day of the regular season - lock up the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

They got it done with a 93-88 victory over the top-seeded Indiana Fever on Sunday night.

Angel McCoughtry led the Dream (20-14) with 32 points, seven in the fourth quarter when Atlanta broke open a 71-71 tie with a 13-4 spurt.

The Dream kept the Fever (21-13) scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes.

``I thought it was a hard-fought game,'' Dream coach Marynell Meadors said. ``It was a cat and mouse game with the starters. Lin (Dunn) would be two in, I would put two in.''

That's how it went at the start, with the teams separated by no more than eight points in the first quarter. Then the Dream started beating Indiana on the boards.

Early in the second quarter, the Fever had only one offensive rebound - 10 fewer than Atlanta. Midway through the period, the Fever had seven turnovers and just nine rebounds. The Dream countered with 20 rebounds.

``I am disappointed that we did not do a better job on the boards,'' Dunn said. ``You cannot give up 19 offensive rebounds and beat anybody. It's unfortunate because I thought we could steal a game from Atlanta.''

Katie Douglas scored 30 points for the Fever, including 16 points on four 3-pointers in the second quarter. Reserve Jessica Davenport scored 15 points, and Tangela Smith had 14.

Alison Bales scored 15 points, and Lindsey Harding added 13 for the Dream.

``Indiana is a great team,'' Bales said. ``It's always great to beat them. We're looking forward to the playoffs now that we've wrapped it up.''

The Fever played without forward Tamika Catchings for the first time this season. Dunn said it was because of a sprained knee.

``If Catchings could have played, she would have played,'' Dunn said. ``She has struggled with this knee for the last couple of weeks. We knew after the New York game that it was bothering her much more. This was not a situation where we held a player out to rest.''

The Dream will face the Connecticut Sun in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Fever will take on the New York Liberty. Indiana secured home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs with a win against Washington on Wednesday.

• Dream: --
• Fever: --

• Dream: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #21 Byron Jarrett, #31 Amy Bonner
• Attendance: 11521
• Duration: 1:52