Catchings was recognized prior to the game for being named Sports Humanitarian of the Year.
Welcome back, Shavonte Zellous.
The Indiana Fever (8-6) wing missed the previous eight games due to a nagging back injury but she returned Wednesday night and paced the team with a season-high 16 points en route to a 83-80 victory over the Tulsa Shock (10-5). It was the Fever’s fifth straight win, their best streak since their WNBA Championship season in 2012.
“Again it wasn’t always pretty,” said head coach Stephanie White. “But that’s the great thing about this time of year where you’re really forming your identity and you’re finding ways to win when it’s not always easy.”
The Fever jumped out to a 30-22 by shooting 65 percent and they led seven at the break, 52-45. (It should’ve been 10 but Briann January fouled Tulsa’s Riquna Williams from range with just 0.8 seconds left.) The second half, though, was a battle.
For starters because official Kevin Sparrock did not return to the court in the second half due to a hamstring injury. That put the other two officials, Thomas Nunez and Janetta Graham, in a difficult spot the rest of the game. In turn, foul calls were missed — as to be expected — and both team were getting testy.
“I thought we showed great fight,” White added. “To be able to come away in the second half and scratch and claw, especially at the end of the ball game and make plays necessary to win.”
Zellous was one of four Indiana players to reach double figures. Layshia Clarendon scored 13 points and Marissa Coleman added 11, including a pair of 3-pointers. Tamika Catchings posted the 94th double-double of her career (and fourth of the season), 11 points and 11 rebounds. Midway into the opening frame, Catch came down with her third rebound of the game to move her into third all-time (3,022) in WNBA history and in front of Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
Diggins made these young girls’ night.
“I actually feel pretty good,” Zellous said. “My back feels pretty good. … I had a week to get my flow back, get back with the girls. I had to push myself through fatigue a little bit.”
With the win, the Fever are now fourth in the Eastern Conference, one game up on the Mystics. These two teams tangle in Washington Friday night — and then the Fever face Connecticut, who’s in third, on Saturday.
Prior to the game, Catchings was recognized by Fever President and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf as the first-ever Sports Humanitarian of the Year, presented by ESPN. $75,000 will be donated to Catchings’ foundation, Catch the Stars, which empowers youth to achieve their dreams by providing goal-setting programs that promote literacy, fitness and mentoring.
On another note, Tulsa was playing without star Skylar Diggins, the South Bend native who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Diggins was at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the game, up in a suite opposite her team’s bench.