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WNBA Indiana Fever

Chicago Outlasts Fever in Low-Scoring Contest

June 15, 2019 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


KEY STAT:

The Sky won the 3-point line by 15 points (24-9) and ended 8-of-21 from beyond the arc. Chicago hit six of its 12 3-point attempts in the second half. The Fever were 0-of-6 from deep after halftime and 3-of-15 for the game.

Both teams set new season lows in points and field goal percentage. Chicago scored 70 points on 32.4 percent shooting (22-of-68) and Indiana finished with 64 points while shooting 33.3 percent (26-of-78).

Allie Quigley led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Only five players finished in double figures.

Chicago got to the free throw line 20 times, finishing 18-of-20. The Sky outscored the Fever, who went 9-of-12, by nine points at the charity stripe.

KEY RUN:

Chicago used an 11-2 spurt near the end of the third quarter to build a 10-point advantage. The Sky led 51-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Fever missed their first 13 shots in the second quarter. Chicago started the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 23-21 lead.

Indiana scored the first eight points of the game. Chicago started 0-of-10 from the field.

INDIANA NOTES:

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever in scoring for the third time in the past four games. Mitchell posted 16 points and went 5-of-18 from the field.

Erica Wheeler finished with eight assists, her second-highest total of the season, and did not commit a single turnover. Wheeler's recorded at least five assists in six of the team's eight games.

All five of Indiana's starters grabbed at least five rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell set a new season-high with five and tied her career-high of five defensive rebounds.

Tiffany Mitchell pulled down a season-high eight rebounds. She was the Fever's leading rebounder for the first time this season.

Indiana won the points in the paint battle, 34-18. The Fever were 17-of-36 inside the paint while the Sky went 9-of-25.

Indiana is .500 or better through its first eight games for the first time since 2016, the last time the team reached the playoffs.

CHICAGO NOTES:

The Sky assisted on 17 of their 22 made field goals. Five different players had at least two assists for Chicago.

Cheyenne Parker contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. It was the third time in the last four games Parker scored in double figures. Parker now has two double-doubles in her last three games.

Courtney Vandersloot led Chicago with eight assists. Vandersloot's dished at least seven assists in all six of the Sky's games this season.

Stefanie Dolson set a season-high with eight rebounds and tied a season-high with three assists. Dolson scored eight points and was 2-of-2 from 3-point range.

The Sky extend their winning streak inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse to four. Indiana leads the all-time series between the teams 35-17.

INDIANA QUOTES:

Head Coach Pokey Chatman

"In the first half, we moved the basketball. We got good looks but things didn't go our way. You saw I didn't go crazy. I don't mind misses when we're getting good ones. When you're not hitting shots though, you have to grind it out on the defensive end. We limited them. We know they've got great shooters. I was pleased with our defense overall, but we didn't finish it."

(On whether Chicago did anything special on defense to force Indiana's missed shots)

"I always give credit to the opponent - and I really mean that. They're a good team with some solid veterans. They do deserve credit for the win and for their defense. But to answer your question, I just watched a game where I saw us get a lot of uncontested shots."

Kelsey Mitchell

(On the energy)

"The energy just kind of took over, the negative energy. We didn't really have it, the juice that we needed to finish the game. It wasn't there. We were just kind of pulling and pulling and pulling and couldn't find it."

(On the rematch)

"It's all us. Rebound and kind of let it come out within us. It's not physical. It's definitely mental. We gotta keep pushing through. That's just it. Truly, that's it."

Natalie Achonwa

"I mean, we were playing a good team. It's a good team that's going to punish us when we make defensive mistakes. We actually held them to under their scoring average, but the difference is the energy wasn't there. Our intensity wasn't there that normally is there. So a tough one, but we play them again in less than a week. So refocus and get ready for the next one."

CHICAGO QUOTES:

Head Coach James Wade

"I thought we played against a really good team, an efficient team. They lead the league in field goal percentage from the three and from the field. I felt like early we were disruptive and it helped us. We didn't give them any easy looks. We didn't let them get in their stuff easy and that was the game plan. But I know playing here it was going to be tough to do, but we were up for the challenge. I'm just happy we were able to get away with a win."

Allie Quigley

"Our first road win of the year, so we're really excited about that. We came in knowing Indiana was playing really well to start the season. So we were just trying to come in, play tough defense and take care of the ball."

(On the difference between the first and second half)

"I think we strung a couple more stops together in the second half and just made more shots. I think we were shooting like 20-something percent in the first half. So we shot better and also got more stops in the second to make a little difference."

Cheyenne Parker

"We came out aggressive knowing that we had lost to them twice in the preseason. So we just wanted to make sure we brought it to them, even though we were on their home court. We wanted to act like it was our home court, so it was just a really big win for us as a team."

(On first and second half)

"Well, the first half we struggled scoring. We couldn't really make shots. We were getting really good shots, but not making them. And then they were hitting some pretty big shots, so I think the second half we kind of came out still with the same mindset to go at the rim, attack the rim and then the shots will eventually fall and then try to get more defensive rebounds."

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