Game Information

Date: Thursday, August 8
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Broadcast Information

Television - FOX Sports Indiana and NBATV
Radio - The Fan 1070 AM/107.5 FM
Webcast - Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA Live Access on FeverBasketball.com

Storylines & Promotions

� Indiana meets the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time in 2013. It is the first of two bouts between the Fever and Sparks in the next eight days, with Indiana visiting L.A. on Aug. 16. The Sparks are the only team the Fever has not faced so far this season. Both teams enter the contest with two-game win streaks and wins in nine of their past 12 games.

� Indiana coach Lin Dunn will coach the 1,100th game of her storied coaching career. In a coaching career that spans 43 years, this is her 36th season as a college or pro head coach. She owns 656 victories overall, including playoffs and the 2012 WNBA championship. She is currently tied as the seventh-winningest coach in WNBA history with 146 regular season victories.

� Thursday�s game is the Fever�s fourth of five games in a 10-day stretch between August 1 and August 10. Though Indiana played its first 17 games in just over two months (69 days), the second half is a more compressed schedule with its final 17 dates scheduled within 46 days. For Indiana, eight of its remaining 14 games are on the road, including a three-game West Coast trip next week.

� After opening the season 1-7, Indiana has surged to the .500 mark for the first time since May, with nine wins in its last 12 games including consecutive wins on Saturday and Tuesday over East-leading Chicago. The Fever is in sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference, three games behind the Sky (13-7) and a game-and-a-half ahead of fourth-place New York (9-12).

� A Fever win over the Sparks would be Indiana�s third straight overall, its 10th in 13 games and its third straight against a team in first or second-place in its respective conference. Indiana would move a game over .500 for the first time since its season opener and would draw within 2 1/2 games of the East-leading Sky. A Fever victory would end the Sparks� two-game win streak.

� A loss would drop Indiana back beneath the .500 mark and extend L.A.�s win streak to three games.

Probable Starters

Fever: F - Tamika Catchings, C - Erlana Larkins, G - Karima Christmas, G - Shavonte Zellous, G - Briann January
Sparks: F - Alana Beard, F - Nneka Ogwumike, C - Jantel Lavender, G - Kristi Toliver, G - Lindsey Harding

Last Meeting

Kristi Toliver scored 21 points to lead all five starters in double-digit scoring as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Indiana Fever 79-69, Tuesday, August 21, 2012, for their seventh straight victory . The Sparks dominated the first quarter with an 18-0 run after Briann January opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. Candace Parker scored 15 points, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Nneka Ogwumike each had 12 and Alana Beard added 10 for the Sparks (17-6). Katie Douglas led the Fever (12-8) with 22 points and Tamika Catchings added 16. Indiana was held to 34 percent shooting. Catchings had only eight points through three quarters before her spurt late in the fourth quarter and had only two rebounds.

Last Games

Fever vs. Sky: Tamika Catchings scored 18 points with eight rebounds and three steals on Tuesday as the Indiana Fever won for the ninth time in 12 games, defeating the Chicago Sky, 64-58. Shavonte Zellous finished with 14 points and a career-high four steals for Indiana, who played its third game in six days. Karima Christmas added 10 points and four of the Fever�s 13 steals which were turned into 18 points. The Fever�s defense helped overcome a 40-29 rebounding deficit, with Sylvia Fowles leading the Sky with 17 boards and 14 points. Elena Delle Donne, playing for the first time after missing two games, contributed 12 points and Epiphanny Prince scored 11. Indiana downed the East-leading Sky for the second time in three nights, both times holding Chicago to season lows in scoring (79-58 in Indiana last Saturday).

Sky vs. Mystics: Kristi Toliver scored 19 points, including two key jumpers down the stretch, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Sparks past the Connecticut Sun 74-72 on Tuesday. Nneka Ogwumike had 15 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles (14-7) and Jantel Lavender added 14 points. Connecticut scored the game's first eight points, but played from behind almost the majority of the time. Tina Charles had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Sun (6-13) and Allison Hightower added 12 points, four assists and three steals. Connecticut's Renee Montgomery also added 13 points for the Sun.

Series

The Sparks lead the all-time series with Indiana, 15-8, including three wins in-a-row. L.A. swept the 2012 series and won a game in Los Angeles in August 2011. Indiana�s last win was a 98-63 home win on July 31, 2011 which capped a three-game win streak of its own. The Fever is 6-5 against L.A. on its home floor including five of the last six.