Last week, many fans and women’s basketball doubters were questioning the team and asking why they were struggling. The reason: the team was forced to play two games without even practicing all together.
These WNBA athletes aren’t paid very well. The maximum contract is $99,000. Compare that to a the NBA minimum salary of $750,000. Not even close.
Therefore the majority of players head overseas to Europe, Turkey, and Spain for example to earn some extra cash and play basketball year round.
It just so happened this past winter, teammates Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings played together, as did Tammy Sutton-Brown and Ebony Hoffman. Sutton-Brown and Hoffman got the best of the other two in their league finals but the extra games and extra time together can only help solidify this years’ Fever squad.
Those four players first arrived in Indianapolis late Thursday. They showed up to practice Friday but didn’t practice. The challenging part for them was keeping their eyes open after hours in the air. After traveling more than 5,500 miles—jetlag is certain.
Jetlag is what we saw during opening weekend. This team is based off energy and support. However the team lacked motivation, excitement and a fast paced tempo. Their bodies and minds were not completely locked in and focused on the game. To make matters worse, they opened with a back-to-back in Indy on Saturday and in Atlanta on Sunday. More traveling, more jetlag.
With two days off and 3 practice days together, as a complete team, we saw a whole different product Saturday and Sunday. Another back-to-back for the Fever but this time two wins.
What was most surprising is how Indiana has won. In the past, the Fever have very much relied on their superstar, Tamika Catchings. If she didn’t score 20+ points, quite simply, they weren’t going to win. That changed when Katie Douglas came on board. And now, the bench has been the best its ever been.
Shay Murphy, who the Fever picked up on the free agent wire last year, has played a pivotal sixth woman role. She had career-highs of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the teams win Saturday at Chicago. Then she followed that up with a team high 16 points in another victory. No matter who leads the statistical numbers, the Fever are hoping to win it all this year. Even rookie Jene Morris who struggled and was nervous in the previous games, scored a season-high 12 points on 5 of 6 from the field.
This team started 0-2 last year and came within 3 minutes of winning the WNBA title. This year, again a 0-2 start. The Fever hope their season this year will end with the trophy in hand.