WNBA Indiana Fever

Indiana Blitzes Atlanta 90-79 on the Road

June 16, 2015 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


ATLANTA - Rebounding from a 26-point home loss on Sunday, the Indiana Fever ran away with a 90-79 victory Tuesday afternoon over the Atlanta Dream at Philips Arena. The Fever, long known as a defensive stalwart that grinded for points, showed off the new-look transition game heralded by new head coach Stephanie White by blasting the Dream over two quarters then holding off a valiant Dream rally in the fourth.

Indiana scored a season high in points despite playing without injured stars Natasha Howard, Erlana Larkins and Shavonte Zellous. The Fever took control early in the second period and only briefly looked back while recording its third straight road win over the Dream.

After trailing by as many as 29, Atlanta awoke in the final period to rally within 10, 79-69. Free throws by Sancho Lyttle cut the margin to 9, and another pair by Roneeka Hodges trimmed the lead to 7, 84-77, with under two minutes remaining. Under a minute, though, the Fever's Briann January stopped the momentum with a steal and four free throws of her own to preserve the win.

Marissa Coleman paced five Fever players in double figures with 18 points, and was largely credited with containing Dream All-Star Angel McCoughtry on the defensive end. Maggie Lucas matched career highs with 17 points and four 3-point field goals. She and Coleman combined to shoot 7-of-11 from 3-point range.

The Fever made 9-of-18 3-pointers overall and shot 50 percent from the floor. As part of its up-tempo offense, Indiana posted 23 assists on 30-of-60 shooting overall, with January dishing six assists and Layshia Clarendon adding a career-high seven.

"The biggest factor for us was getting back to details and playing with energy," said White. "We needed to bounce back from Sunday. I thought we played well. I was proud of our team, but you're never in control against Atlanta because, the way they play, they make runs and they make big runs."

"We made some of the hustle plays when we needed them, though," she added. "We got some big rebounds and we got up and down the floor well, consistently."

Rookie center Natalie Achonwa shot 5-of-6 from the floor for 12 points. Returning from a league-imposed suspension on Sunday, Tamika Catchings contributed 11 points and Lynetta Kizer had 10 as Indiana posted its first road win.

Sancho Lyttle led Atlanta with a game-high 19 points and Angel McCoughtry netted 15. Rookie Erica Wheeler came off the bench to register a career-best 13 points, and Erika de Souza added 10 as the Dream lost their second straight game.

Trailing 18-16 after the opening quarter, Indiana blitzed the home team with a 33-point second quarter while taking a 49-35 lead into halftime. It was the Fever's highest scoring half of the season and the second-highest scoring quarter in Fever history - a stark contrast to a nine-point second period two days earlier against Chicago.

The Indiana onslaught continued into the third quarter as the Fever scored the first six points, then added another 12-0 run for a 73-44 advantage with 2:03 left in the quarter that was the club's largest lead in two seasons.

The Fever is at New York on Friday (7:30 p.m., 107.5/1070 The Fan) before returning to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host the Washington Mystics on Saturday (7:00 p.m., WISH-TV, 107.5/1070 The Fan).

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