Examiner com July 17, 2009

Examiner.com

July 17, 2009

Fever overcomes rough start, beats Dream 

By Justin Albers

INDIANAPOLIS- The first two times the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream met this season, Indiana had its problems.

      The WNBA's best team lost a double overtime game in Atlanta before pulling out a narrow 78-74 win in a July 5th home game.

       The third time was more of the same between the two teams, but the veteran Fever club got the job done in the end and held onto its winning streak.

      Indiana managed to move past a less-than-desirable start to post an 84-79 victory in front of a Friday night crowd of 7,975 at Conseco Fieldhouse, extending its franchise-record streak to 11 games.

     "The really neat thing about this team is we just find a way to win," said Fever coach Lin Dunn, who was named the head coach of the Eastern Conference in next week's All-Star game. "We started off a little shaky, but we settled down, got to work, and did some really good things."

     The Fever (11-2), which started 2-of-12 from the field and quickly trailed 15-8, made five of their final six first quarter shots and worked hard to build a comfortable 43-31 halftime lead.

      But just when they thought they were out of rough waters, the talented Atlanta club made a number of quick spurts to keep Indiana off balance.

      The best chance for the Dream (7-9) came with just over four minutes to play in the game. The Fever led by five at 70-65, but Tammy Sutton-Brown dribbled the ball off her leg and gave Atlanta an opportunity to get within a single possession.

     But Katie Douglas and Ebony Hoffman responded with two huge 3-pointers to give Indiana yet another win.

     "This was a very important team victory," said Douglas, who led the Fever with 25 points, including five 3's. "I never thought the game was in jeopardy, but they do have good scorers and continue to come at you. It is much better to learn from a win."

     The biggest obstacle for Indiana was dealing with Atlanta's 6-foot-5 Brazil product Erika DeSouza.

     DeSouza was a load on both ends of the floor all night and she made it tough on the Fever post players. The 190-lb. center scored a Dream-high 23 points and collected 14 of the team's 32 rebounds.

The Fever put four players in double figures, but perhaps no player was more important than Tully Bevilaqua. The Australian point guard knocked down three of her four field goal attempts as she chipped in 10 points and five assists. Tamika Catchings and Tammy Sutton-Brown contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Indiana has been fortunate with nine home games in the first month and a half of the season, but now it's time for the Fever to hit the road. They won't play at home again until July 28 and nine of the next 13 games are away from Conseco Fieldhouse.

     "We've got a big test ahead of us, but I think if we all stick together and do the little things that made us get to this point then we'll be all right," Catchings said.

East Record?

Katie Douglas worked hard to help the Connecticut Sun win 12 consecutive games in 2006. Now, for the Fever to tie that Eastern Conference record, Douglas will have to help Indiana beat her former team. The Fever will be in Connecticut on Sunday.