Liberty-Fever Preview

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Sep 14 2011 6:12PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tamika Catchings has one goal left in her career - winning a WNBA title.

In pursuit of that goal, she could also claim her first MVP award.

The 32-year-old forward has finished in the top five in the MVP balloting eight times. She's a four-time defensive player of the year who has led the Fever to the playoffs seven straight years, the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the WNBA Finals once. She's a two-time Olympic gold medalist and was a collegiate national champion at Tennessee.

Catchings blames herself for not yet having a WNBA ring, and she carries that burden into Thursday's first-round opener against the New York Liberty.

``Being the leader for this team and being at the forefront, everybody looks to my direction,'' she said. ``Maybe there's something else I need to be doing.''

Catchings doesn't have much room for improvement. She averaged 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season while ranking in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, free-throw percentage and steals. Indiana finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, giving the Fever homecourt advantage in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs and Catchings perhaps her best shot at reaching the top.

``The potential that we have, the players that we have - we have all the pieces, it's just a matter of putting it all together,'' she said.

While Catchings avoids newspapers and Web sites so she can stay focused on team business, All-Star Fever guard Katie Douglas has no problem touting her teammate as a worthy MVP.

``I think it would be a great credential,'' Douglas said. ``I know she says she'd rather win a championship, and that's great, but there's so many things that she does show up on a stat sheet, and then there's so many intangibles.''

After Catchings tied a career high with 32 points in a win over the Liberty on Aug. 13, Fever coach Lin Dunn started an unofficial campaign.

``Catch is a multidimensional player,'' Dunn said that night. ``I think sometimes she's not given enough credit for all the different things she can do. She gets assists, she gets steals, she gets rebounds, she scores and she defends like nobody else in the league. It's unfortunate that so much emphasis is put on `Who's the leading scorer?'''

Catchings has picked up another advocate along the way - Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird.

``The one thing I notice about her that you don't find in very many basketball players, men or women, is she never gives up on a play,'' he said. ``She's always digging, always going after it, always trying to get her hands on the ball.''

Bird, who coached the Indiana Pacers, appreciates Catchings' consistency and versatility. The three-time NBA MVP and three-time world champion for the Boston Celtics said Catchings' tenacity reminds him of himself.

``She's so consistent, and you know what you'll get out of her every day,'' he said. ``You take some players in any league and they'll have one really good game out of three, but Tamika has always been steady and has always been there every time, and people take that for granted. But coaches love that. Coaches love to know who they can depend on night after night, and she's definitely one of those players.''

Catchings appreciated the support but made it clear that she's focused on the task ahead.

``I'm really honored that a lot of people have gone to bat for me and want to see me win it,'' she said. ``I want to focus on playing and doing what it takes to help this team win,'' she said.

Handling the Liberty and their MVP candidate, Cappie Pondexter, will be a challenge. Pondexter finished sixth in the league with 17.4 points per game this season. The guard averaged 19 points and four assists in four regular-season games against the Fever.

``She's an amazing player,'' Catchings said. ``She's the kind of player that I would love to play with someday. You know what she's capable of doing.''

Catchings said no player or team can shut Pondexter down.

"You can't leave it to one person to guard her the whole game,'' she said. ``It's definitely a team effort. You just have to find a way to slow her down and keep the ball out of her hands.''

Perhaps a bigger challenge for the Fever will be keeping New York off the boards. The Liberty outrebounded the Fever 30-19 in their last meeting, an 83-75 win on Sept. 9. New York had 11 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points that night.

``We have to rebound,'' Catchings said. ``We just have to a better job of keeping people off the boards, especially the offensive boards.''

Bird thinks the Fever can do it.

``I think this is the year,'' he said. ``I think Tamika's going to lead them all the way.''

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

Fever beat Liberty 74-72 in playoffs opener

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Sep 15 2011 11:37PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana Fever guard Erin Phillips had never made a game-winning shot.

With WNBA All-Stars Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas on Phillips' team, the New York Liberty certainly didn't expect that to change Thursday night - not in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Phillips made this clutch shot look routine, sinking a turnaround jumper with 1.5 seconds left to give the Fever a 74-72 win and the early edge in the best-of-three series.

``I really didn't think too much of it or put myself under pressure,'' said Phillips, who finished with six points and took only six shots.

Catchings said the Fever planned for Phillips to take the shot all along.

``We just drew it up as the one-four-flat, and the one-four-flat just creates on the top,'' Catchings said. ``I knew Erin was going to come down and put something up, and thank God it was right on the money. I figured she would either get the shot up or get fouled. She did a great job of hitting.''

New York coach John Whisenant felt confident with Essence Carson guarding Phillips.

``Erin shot it over our best defensive player,'' he said. ``Erin made a tough shot. Erin and Carson matched up one-on-one, I'd put my money on Carson.''

New York's Cappie Pondexter missed a 3-pointer, with Phillips guarding her, that would have won the game as time expired.

``We just tried to get Cappie a shot,'' Whisenant said. ``They had it defended, but they got mixed up and she still got the shot. Their play worked and ours didn't.''

Douglas led the Fever with 25 points, Catchings scored 15, and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 14.

The Fever lost a 15-point lead in the second half but recovered. Indiana held on, in part, by making 20 of 23 free throws.

Pondexter led the Liberty with 18 points. She had scored at least 20 in six consecutive playoff games against the Fever, dating to her days with Phoenix in 2009.

``Everybody guarded Pondexter at one time or another,'' Indiana coach Lin Dunn said. ``It's good to put fresh bodies on her. We defended Cappie by committee.''

Nicole Powell scored 12 points and Kia Vaughn added 10 for New York, which will host Game 2 of the series on Saturday.

Pondexter promised a better performance on Saturday. A win by New York would force a decisive Game 3 back in Indiana on Monday night.

``Conseco is one of the toughest places to play,'' Pondexter said. ``That we had the opportunity to win speaks volumes. I'm going to lead these guys to victory. I want to come back here.''

The Fever led 71-70 in the fourth quarter when Phillips threw a bad pass that Carson intercepted. Indiana's Tangela Smith was called for a clear path foul, giving the Liberty two shots and the ball. Carson missed both free throws, and New York failed to score on the extra possession.

New York tied the game at 72 on a pair of free throws by Kia Vaughn with 50.7 seconds left. The Liberty then had a chance to take the lead on a fast break after an Indiana miss, but Catchings caught up with Pondexter and forced her into a turnover. That gave Phillips the chance to make her game-winning shot.

Indiana led 28-16 at the end of the first quarter as Catchings scored 10 points in the period.

Catchings was hit in the nose during the second quarter and briefly left the game. She returned, and the Fever led 44-34 at halftime.

New York cut Indiana's lead to 44-37 early in the third quarter before Douglas drained two 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that gave the Fever a 52-37 lead and forced New York to call timeout.

The Liberty rallied again, and a three-point play by Kara Braxton cut Indiana's lead to 52-48. New York cut the deficit to two before Indiana got a basket in close by Jessica Davenport and a fast-break layup by Douglas to push the lead to 60-54.

Indiana led 62-58 at the end the third quarter, then went cold in the fourth.

``I think we came out in the second half and we were anxious a little bit,'' Dunn said. ``We didn't quite have the energy. They came out really focused and they were very aggressive and were attacking us.''

Douglas wasn't surprised that New York made a run.

``We didn't expect that just because we're playing at home that we're going to win, even if we did have a 15-point lead,'' she said. ``We have to be ready for the same type of atmosphere going to New York.''

• Liberty: --
• Fever: --

• Liberty: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #9 Denise Brooks, #38 Lamont Simpson, #42 Roy Gulbeyan
• Attendance: 7608
• Duration: 2:11