WNBA Indiana Fever

Indiana Drops Opening Game at WNBA Preseason Tournament

Published on May 9, 2014 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


ORLANDO - Jameirra Faulkner scored 11 points and Sequoia Holmes added 10 to lead the Chicago Sky past the Indiana Fever, 73-66, in WNBA preseason action Friday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney.

Indiana's Karima Christmas shot 5-of-11 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 16 points. Jasmine Hassell, Layshia Clarendon and Sydney Carter all scored eight for the Fever which played its third game in four days. Lynetta Kizer pitched in six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"I thought it looked like we played our third game in four days," said Fever coach Lin Dunn, whose team lost a pair of games against Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday. "It definitely looked that way. We played with fatigue. It showed in our rebounding. We got down 10 points and couldn't come back."

"We did some good things," said Kizer, "but we learned tonight that we have to play through some of the fatigue. [The Sky] beat us on the boards. They were tougher than we were."

Indiana actually outrebounded Chicago, 37-35, but did not share the large advantage it did in each of its first two preseason games. The Sky, though, outscored the Fever 36-28 inside the paint.

A see-saw first half featured 11 lead changes and 11 ties before the Sky broke a 33-33 deadlock in the final minute before intermission. Chicago hit three straight buckets for a 39-33 lead and the largest lead of the game to that point.

The 6-0 run by Chicago was the largest run of the game until a 7-0 Indiana spurt in the fourth quarter saw Christmas' 3-pointer pull the Fever within 57-54 with 8:10 to play. But Indiana never got closer.

After leading by six at the half, Chicago scored 8 of the first 12 points of the second half to command a 10-point lead, 47-37, the largest lead of the contest.

"We are trying to give our new people a lot of minutes," added Dunn. "We're still trying to see who makes our team. I thought Karima played well and I have to give credit to Kizer who continues to be strong on the boards. I also thought Sydney Carter played well for someone who didn't join our team until 24 hours ago."

Carter, a third-year guard who played with Connecticut in 2013, was signed by the Fever on Thursday. She joined the team for the first time at Friday's morning shootaround.

Indiana continues action in the WNBA Preseason Tournament when it faces the loser of Friday's nightcap between Phoenix and Minnesota.

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