The Chicago Sky seemingly had the Indiana Fever’s number. They swept the four-game season series, winning three of the games by more than 20 points each. Heading into the postseason play, it was Chicago with the home-court advantage.
The Sky kept it going when they won their fifth straight over Indiana in Game 1 of the conference semifinals. Playing from behind, the Fever returned home and took Game 2 and then followed it up with a 100-89 victory Monday night in Rosemont, Ill. with the season on the line. The Fever won their conference semifinals series, 2-1.
Made clear by their play: They weren’t ready for their season to be over.
The Fever beat the Sky, 2-1, in the conference semifinals.
It was a offensive-loaded clash between two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Sky are led by WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, who ripped off 40 points, nearly half of her team’s points. The Fever have Tamika Catchings, along with a quality cast of contributors.
[Click here to see the boxscore.]
It was Catchings who brought the intensity, as she always does, plus a team-high 27 points (on 8-of-16 shooting), nine rebounds, and six assists. In doing so, she became the first player in league history to tally 1,000 career points in the playoffs. (She has 1,019 with at least two more games this season.)
“I can’t say enough, obviously, of the warrior mentality of our leader, of Tamika Catchings,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said postgame. “She wills our teams, and has always willed our teams to do things that many don’t think our teams are capable of doing.”
While Catchings, who plans to return in one year after the 2016 Rio Olympics, is the face of the franchise, Indiana’s starters were terrific. They accounted for 94 of 100 points with all five players reaching double figures and four contributing at least 17 points each.
Shenise Johnson, an offseason acquisition, made 10-of-15 shots for 22 points, and Erlana Larkins, a force in the post, went 7-of-8 for 18 points. Both were playoff career highs. Marissa Coleman, in her second season with the Fever, nailed a big 3-pointer late — one of her five on the night — to keep the Sky at a distance.
The Sky’s backcourt duo of Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, who once suited up for Indiana (2010), were tough all series long. Vandersloot distributed the ball oh so well and Quigley had that scorer’s mentality off the bench. She was named Sixth Woman of the Year for the 2015 season.
The Fever, who led by as many as 14 points, shot 57.8 percent for the game, including half of their threes (10-of-20), en route to the must-win. (It was actually a must-win, despite others’ desire to overuse the term.) They assisted on nearly 65 percent of their field goals, managed their turnovers (six), and got to the foul line twice as many times as the Sky (20 times).
20 regular season wins and a come-from-behind series win to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight season. Not bad for “rookie” head coach Stephanie White. (I put rookie in quotations because while it’s her first true season as the lead voice, she’s made a big impact for years.)
So proud of our crew #All12! Thx everyone for the kind words- let's go Fever!!
— stephanie white (@StephanieWhite) September 22, 2015
And so, the Fever have moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Who they will face, however, is still to be determined. The Fever are awaiting the result of the other semifinal matchup between top-seeded New York and No. 4 Washington. A decisive Game 3 is Tuesday in New York.
If New York wins, the Fever play Game 1 of the conference finals in New York on Wednesday (Early because of the Pope’s visit.) Game 2 would then be in Indy on Sunday.
If Washington prevails, the first game of the conference finals will be in Indy Thursday evening.
The Fever went 3-1 against the Liberty during the regular season and 2-2 against the Mystics.