Storm-Fever Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Sep 11 2012 11:37PM

A difficult stretch has the Indiana Fever playing four consecutive games against teams that have clinched playoff spots, but they may be facing their next one at the right time.

The Fever look to win their third straight Wednesday night when they host the Seattle Storm, who hope for a better performance after a sloppy one the night before.

Indiana has been on an impressive run following the Olympic break, winning nine of 11.

The Fever (19-9) have won their last two, including an 89-83 victory over Phoenix on Sunday. Katie Douglas scored a season-high 30 points, becoming the 10th player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 career points, and Tamika Catchings added 19 and five steals.

Indiana erased an early 11-point deficit and hit seven 3-pointers to set a single-season franchise record with 230 - with six games left - and can make a run at the WNBA record of 283.

"We started out focused, ready to roll tonight," Catchings said. "They came out strong right from the beginning. But we know the game has highs and lows and we kept chipping away at the lead and finally got ahead of them. ... The one thing about us, we're always trying to figure out how to get better."

Six of Indiana's previous 11 games were against teams with losing records, including Seattle (13-15), which still has clinched a playoff spot. The Fever's next four are against post-season bound, including three against conference leaders Connecticut and Minnesota.

Indiana is 1 1/2 games behind the Sun, whom it plays Sept. 19, in the East.

The Fever defeated Seattle 68-66 on Aug. 23, overcoming a 13-point deficit with a Shavonte Zellous 3-pointer right before time expired. This time, the Storm are trying to regroup after a 77-61 loss Tuesday at Atlanta in the second of their four-game road trip.

Lauren Jackson had 14 points and nine rebounds and Camille Little added 13 and eight, respectively. The Storm nearly erased a 16-point deficit but never were able to overtake the Dream.

Seattle made just four of its first 14 shots en route to shooting 39.0 percent and committed 21 turnovers. It had won its previous two games - both against Tulsa - while shooting a combined 59.0 percent.

``We've got to be physically and mentally tougher if we're going to be in a situation to win a championship,'' said Seattle coach Brian Angle. ``We gave it to them 16 times (on steals) and they are going to go down there and shoot layups.''

Seattle, which has lost three straight at Indiana, is 5-9 on the road.

Douglas helps Fever beat Storm 72-48

Posted Sep 12 2012 9:27PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Katie Douglas scored 16 points and the Indiana Fever forced a franchise-record 28 turnovers in a 72-48 victory over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday night.

Tamika Catchings added 13 points, seven rebounds and a season-high six steals for the Fever (20-9), who have won eight of nine. The Fever are 10-2 since the Olympic break and remain in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Svetlana Abrosimova had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Storm (13-16).

Seattle played without its starting backcourt. Point guard Sue Bird, the Storm's leading scorer, rested and Tanisha Wright did not play because of a groin strain. The Fever took advantage, collecting a season-high 17 steals and allowing a season-low point total.

Seattle center Lauren Jackson finished with four points on 2-for-10 shooting and committed seven turnovers.

Indiana shot just 33 percent from the field, but made 10 3-pointers and outscored the Storm 14-4 from the free-throw line.

The Fever have won at least 20 games for the fourth straight year and are within range of their franchise record of 22 wins with five games remaining. Indiana set the record in 2009, the year the team lost to Phoenix in the WNBA Finals.

The Fever held Seattle scoreless for 4:51 while building a 10-0 lead. Indiana led 35-26 at halftime, despite shooting 32 percent from the field. The Fever forced 15 turnovers before the break.

Indiana led by double digits for much of the third quarter. Seattle closed the gap before Douglas hit a 3-pointer to make it 49-37. A 3-pointer by Jeanette Pohlen and a layup by Erin Phillips late in the period expanded the lead to 56-37. Pohlen drained another three with 0.2 seconds remaining to make it 59-37 at the end of the third.

• Storm: --
• Fever: --

• Storm: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #13 Cameron Inouye, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 6337
• Duration: 1:43