Phoenix evens series with Indiana, forces game five

INDIANAPOLIS – Tamika Catchings grabbed a steal and scored a stretching layup that brought the game to 68-74.

The Fever forward crouched in a defensive stance, ready to shoot the passing gaps for another score. Instead, Catchings ended the possession with her fourth foul of the game.

Without their best defender and chief playmaker, the Fever faltered in a 90-77 loss against the Mercury in game 4 of the WNBA finals. The series is now tied at 2-2 as the teams take flights back to Phoenix for a fifth and final game on Friday.

Indiana’s second-leading scorer, forward Ebony Hoffman, also had foul trouble during the game. Their absence, however brief, saw the Fever unravel.

“It’s another tangible of the game,” Hoffman said. “You have to realize how the refs are going to call it and adjust to that.”

Indiana found it hard to do what Hoffman made sound so simple. After the game, Indiana coach Lin Dunn named off the shooting nights for key players who had underperformed.

“It’s going to be hard for us to win when Katie Douglas is 2-for-14, Briann (January) is 1-9,” Dunn said.

The Fever struggled with the exception of Catchings’ 24 points and the 17 buckets chipped in by forward Ebony Hoffman. They were 2-of-18 from the three-point line while Phoenix hit 10 threes in the game. 

One key three-pointer came from Phoenix center Tangela Smith near the 7:00 minute mark of the fourth quarter. It gave Phoenix an 11-point lead, the largest lead of the game to that point.

From there on, Indiana struggled to find itself.

It also lost the opportunity to win another championship banner while within Conseco Fieldhouse, a place where an Indiana team hasn’t won since 1973 while the Pacers were part of the American Basketball Association.

The same gritty, loose-rebound-grabbing team that took the floor in the first half was absent. There were no more steals, tip-outs or loose-ball rebounds.

The Fever also seemed disheveled on offense. Particularly, on a play where a Mercury defender blocked Douglas’ shot and bounced the ball off her and out of bounds before she could ever react.

Three after three spun out as fans became impatient, mirroring the Fever offense that had ran so well in the first half.
“If you’re a penetrator, you need to penetrate,” Catchings said. “We penetrate and kick, you need to shoot that shot.”

While Indiana seemed to panic, Phoenix settled in.

The calm of Phoenix could be seen before the second half’s opening whistle.

With only a two-point lead going into the second half, Taurasi played a volleyball-style game with teammates before suiting up for the second half.

She had a quiet first half after spending most of time in foul trouble. But she seemed unaffected as she slapped the backboard with the same enthusiasm she had before the start of the game.

As the third quarter began, the Mercury started to pull away following a reverse move from Taurasi, as she swirled the ball up with her left hand, throwing her body in the opposite direction.

Taurasi’s resurgence signaled the end of game 4. As the clock ran out, some fans stood and cheered, but most took for the concourse and parking lots. They knew that signs claiming “We’re not going back to Arizona” had been proven wrong.

Catchings found resolve after the game and said she is sure her team will fare better in its next meeting with Phoenix.

“We had a bad shooting night tonight,” Catchings said. “But I don’t expect a bad shooting night on Friday.”