KEY STAT:
- Through the first 16 years in Indiana franchise history, the Fever had never put more than six players in double figures in the same game. The Fever have now posted two consecutive games in which seven players have scored 10 or more points.
KEY RUN:
- After Atlanta closed its first-half deficit to five points, 35-40, with 2:23 left in the second quarter, the Fever closed the first half on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 52-37 entering halftime.
INDIANA NOTES:
- The Fever forced 22 turnovers and collected 17 steals on the night.
- Indiana finished the first half with 14 steals, setting a new franchise record for steals in one half. The Fever fell one steal shy of the WNBA record for steals in a single half held by the San Antonio Stars against Tulsa on June 11, 2010.
- Tamika Catchings led the Fever in scoring for the first time this season with a season-high 14 points.
- Four Fever players came off the bench to score 10 or more points as Indiana’s bench outscored Atlanta’s second unit, 54-29.
- Tiffany Mitchell scored in double figures for the third straight game as she added 12 points, two assists and four steals in 22 minutes off the bench.
- Natalie Achonwa finished with a season-high 10 points as she shot 3-for-4 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line in 15 minutes off the bench.
- Rookie guard Brene Moseley led the Fever with six assists while only committing one turnover in 14 minutes off the bench.
ATLANTA NOTES:
- In her first game against her former squad, Dream guard Layshia Clarendon finished with a career-high 19 points as she shot 7-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. She also finished with six rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
- Guard Tiffany Hayes tied Clarendon with a game-high 19 points.
- The backcourt duo combined to shoot 13-for-16, 81.3 percent from the field for the game.
- Reshanda Gray finished with 11 points off the bench, all coming in the fourth quarter.
Quoting Fever Head Coach Stephanie White
“I was really proud of our team. It’s always great to get a win when things aren’t pretty. We shot ourselves in the foot a few times to keep us from really rolling, but we never gave in and we kept battling. It’s a tribute to our growth process, and a tribute to our veterans. It’s also a sign of being so unselfish – we shared the basketball and really stayed balanced, which makes us tough to beat, even when things aren’t going exactly as we’d like them.”
“We made a lot of mistakes, mentally and physically. We hurt ourselves again with turnovers and fouls, and we were anemic at the free throw line (26-of-37).”
“At gut-check time, we made stops and we made plays when we needed them. Nobody tried to do too much, and they trusted their teammates. When we trust each other, that is when we are at our best.”
“We just battled. [Erlana] Larkins went down [right knee, 2:28 into first quarter], and the bench stepped right in. I’ve got to give it to our bench. We scored 54 points off the bench with seven players in double figures. And I hand it to a player like [Brene] Moseley. She had six assists and just one turnover in 14 minutes off the bench. That’s great team play.”
“When we play with balance, we’re tough to guard that way. That’s the way we want to play. We want to play up-tempo and that means everybody’s going to play.”
Quoting Dream Head Coach Michael Cooper
(On the first half turnovers) “I think it was our inability. The Fever definitely played defense because they had 17 steals or something like that. But again, it was our inefficiency to come down and make the right play. I think we’re just throwing the ball in too loose with it. Do that and good teams capitalize on it…(How hard is it to prepare for a team with such a balanced offense?) Not hard at all. I think it’s just our ability to get down and play defense and decide and dictate who we want to take the shots. And I don’t think we did that as well as they did it tonight. They dictated who shot the ball for us. Again, we’re a work in progress and it’s going to take some time to improve on. We’re 1-1, could easily be 0-2 because of winning that San Antonio game and had a chance to win this one. So it’s early in the season, but the one part about the playoff format is that you can’t lose games like this. You need these early games to stay in the hunt.”
Quoting the Fever’s Tamika Catchings
(On the team’s scoring balance)“I think it’s been great. I think it’s great for Steph (Stephanie White) to rely on that and to know that whoever she puts in can be effective on the offensive end and the defensive end…(On the Fever’s tenacity in the final quarter) “I think it’s frustrating to be the captain of the team to even get in those situations when you can put people away. We gotta learn to put them away for good. Being able to come out and being able to finish the game. I think the bench did awesome tonight. But the group that finished off the game, just being able to hold that, I think even looking over to the bench, just like the confidence and just the environment, the whole team, the way we’re jelling, it’s just awesome to be a part of.”
Quoting the Fever’s Shenise Johnson
(On starting the season with three games at home) “I think it helps. I think it makes us more comfortable. We’re able to practice on a familiar court, sleep in our own beds. But ultimately, we gotta get ready to go on the road. It’s always good when you can get a couple wins at home, feel good about yourself before you go play some tough teams on the road…(On the Fever’s tenacity) Atlanta’s a tough team. They keep coming at you in waves. They have all those slashers, a lot of attackers. They put a lot of pressure on our defense. But the thing that’s so great about us is we have a little bit of depth too. And our bench came in and gave us a big, big spark. They’ve been pretty much doing it the last two games. So it’s good for us.”
Quoting the Dream’s Layshia Clarendon
“We’re a really good team, a little bit young. We have some older vets. But I think we have a lot to build on. And you can’t spot a team 16 or whatever points in the second quarter. I think we did a great job in the second half. But we know that we can’t spot teams that many points. So be a little more disciplined. Obviously, we handed them the ball I think 17 times in the first half. So be more disciplined and control what we can…(On the difference between the first and second half) We just turned the ball over. We handed the ball to them literally. We were like turning over handing it to them. On the second half I think we played a lot smarter, got more stops, a little more discipline. And I think the turnovers were the biggest thing, they had like 18 points I think in the first half off of our turnovers, which are things we can control.”
Quoting the Dream’s Tiffany Hayes
“I think we had a rough start and that’s what gave them the lead in the beginning. It put us in a hole so we had to try to fight back out of that hole. We just gotta learn to not put ourselves in a hole in the beginning. I think we could have won this game…(On the difference between the first and second half) Second half we started attacking. We came out with energy. We were getting to the hole, we were getting to the line, making our free throws. In the first half we weren’t doing that.”