Fever defeat Dream 92-84 in opener
Every time Atlanta got close, Indiana answered.
Katie Douglas scored 21 points and Tamika Catchings added 16 to help the Fever defeat the Dream 92-84 on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams. It was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals series, which Atlanta won 2-1.
Indiana led by 17 points in the fourth quarter but had to make free throws in the final minute to hold on.
“We knew they would rally the troops at halftime, and they really stepped up their defensive intensity,” Catchings said. “We didn’t handle it well and turned the ball over too much. But it’s more fun to learn off a win than a loss.”
Jessica Davenport had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Shavonte Zellous and Briann January each scored 11 points for the Fever. Indiana made 12 of 21 3-pointers and 20 of 24 free throws.
Angel McCoughtry led Atlanta with 26 points. Sancho Lyttle had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Lindsey Harding added 16 points for the Dream.
“The thing about this Dream team is that we’re always going to come back,” Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors said. “But tonight, it wasn’t enough. Indiana played an outstanding game tonight, and they did what they had to do to win.”
Indiana led 47-32 at halftime after making 8 of 14 3-pointers before the break. Atlanta made a run early in the second half to cut Indiana’s lead to 55-47, but Jeanette Pohlen quickly drained a 3-pointer to put the Fever up by 11.
Atlanta continued its rally, and a short jumper by Lyttle cut Indiana’s lead to 58-53 and forced the Fever to call timeout.
Lyttle made a 3-pointer, but January came back with a three at the other end, then Catchings made two free throws to push the lead back to 67-60. Davenport scored on an assist from January, then Erin Phillips hit a jumper. Davenport hit a one-handed, one-footed 25-foot 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to give Indiana a 74-60 lead at the end of the quarter. It was a 12-0 run in 1:45 to close the period.
Indiana led 77-60 on a 3-pointer by January early in the fourth quarter before falling apart. Atlanta cut Indiana’s lead to 86-82 late in the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws by Harding, but Indiana held on.
“There were times where it was really pretty and times when it was very ugly,” Douglas said. “We had a really pretty first half, gave them a dose of their own medicine. We did a good job of sharing the basketball. We came out flat at halftime, didn’t handle their adjustments.”
The most important statistic for the Fever was 1-0.
“We will take this win, learn from it and try to get better,” Douglas said.
Notes: Eight different Fever players made a 3-pointer, the most for a single team in a game in league history. … Indiana’s 12 3-pointers fell one short of the franchise record. … Davenport had five blocked shots.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbrunt_isl.
