WNBA Indiana Fever

Fever wins in overtime

June 13, 2006 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


Tamika Catchings' 15-foot jumper with 0.1 seconds in overtime lifted the Indiana Fever to an 80-78 overtime win over the New York Liberty. Catchings, who led the Fever with 30 points and nine rebounds, knotted the score on a deadball free throw with 15.4 seconds to play after a Liberty foul on an inbounds pass. Only moments earlier, the Becky Hammon's jumper in the lane gave New York a 78-77 advantage.

- New York assumed control in the overtime period and led by as many as five. A Catchings free throw with 1:04 brought the Fever within 76-73. Tully Bevilaqua's steal and layin cut the gap to one and, following a Liberty miss, Catchings was fouled on a breakaway with thirty seconds left. She made both free throws to stake the Fever to a 77-76 advantage.

- Leading by four after three quarters, Indiana scored the first four points of the final period to assume its largest lead at 59-51. The Liberty would chip within two on Becky Hammon's NBA 3-pointer with 1:08 to play, 65-63, and Loree Moore's free throws with 28.2 seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.

- Others in double figures for the Fever included Tully Bevilaqua with 13, and 10 apiece from Tamika Whitmore and Charlotte Smith. Whitmore returned to Madison Square Garden where she played her first five WNBA seasons with the Liberty.

- Hammon paced N.Y. with 17 points and former Fever star Kelly Schumacher added 16. Barbara Farris had 11 points.

- After Catchings' free throws staked Indiana to its first lead of the game, 47-46, Tan White sparked Indiana with a pair of drives through the lane for a five-point cushion. Catchings capped an 11-0 run with a three-point play with 48 seconds left in the third.

- After trailing 38-33 at the break, Indiana took its first lead of the game with 6:14 left in the third quarter. Ebony Hoffman's turnaround jumper made it 42-40 just after Tamika Catchings knotted the score for the first time since the opening tip. Catchings, who hit a long 3-pointer just before intermission, scored the Fever's first seven points of the second half.

- Indiana's first quarter was perhaps its worst single period of the season. Falling behind 20-8, the Fever shot just 3-of-11 from the floor and committed seven turnovers. The Fever missed all three 3-point attempts and were just 2-of-6 at the foul stripe as the Liberty built an early 12-point lead, with the help of its own 53 percent shooting from the floor.

Fever Quotes:

Head Coach Brian Winters in general ---

"It was a gut-check win. We got the deficit to a manageable level at halftime, and it was nip-and-tuck the whole second half. Our toughness showed in the OT. We got behind by five, but we didn't quit, and we made a lot of big plays to win it."

Head Coach Brian Winters on coming from behind ---

"What we tried to do was just the cut the lead in half, one basket at a time."

Tamika Catchings on the overtime foul that sent her to the line with 15.4 seconds to play ---

"She (Ashley Battle) was holding me. When I cut, they called the foul. Sometimes you get ‘em and sometimes you don't. But that was something that we always talk about as a team, ourselves, ‘Whatever you do, don't foul until the ball comes inbounds.'"

Tamika Catchings on trailing early ---

"Yeah, I was concerned, even a little upset that we didn't come out with the right energy and intensity. The whole second half was back and forth. We knew what we had to do to win, and fortunately we were able to execute when it counted."

Fever Notes:

- The Fever has won three of its last four games, and snapped a three-game road losing streak. New York has lost three of four, and played at home for just the third time in nine games.

- The Fever has won four of its last five games at Madison Square Garden, and 5-of-6 counting last season's first-round playoff win.

- Indiana surrendered a 20-8 single-quarter deficit for the second straight road game. After jumping to a 19-9 lead at Charlotte last Friday, the Sting outscored the Fever 20-8 in the second period.

- Committing an uncharacteristic 15 or more turnovers in five straight games entering the contest, Indiana had 10 by halftime.

- All-Star forward Tamika Catchings was named to the WNBA All-Decade Team on Tuesday night. One of 10 players named to the team to commemorate the WNBA's 10th Anniversary, Catchings was chosen from among 30 nominees by fans, a panel of national and W NBA-market media and the league's current players and coaches. The All-Decade Team honors those players who have contributed the most to the overall success of the WNBA. Joining Catchings on the All-Decade team are, in alphabetical order: Sue Bird (Seattle), Cynthia Cooper (Houston), Yolanda Griffith (Sacramento), Lauren Jackson (Seattle), Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles), Katie Smith (Detroit, Minnesota), Dawn Staley (Houston, Charlotte), Sheryl Swoopes (Houston) and Tina Thompson (Houston).

- Indiana continues a 12-game stretch in a span of just 25 days, during which it will play or travel on all but three of those days (June 19, 20, 30). The Fever also begins a stretch with 5-of-7 games on the road - Indiana travels to Detroit on Friday. The Fever returns to Conseco Fieldhouse for a Father's Day game against the Charlotte Sting, June 18 (6:00 p.m.).

Check out the Indiana Fever Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 13, 2006


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