Atlanta (11-6) at Indiana (10-11)
Game Information
Date: Saturday, August 10
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 (10-11) hosts the Atlanta Dream (11-6) on Saturday as the Fever hopes to rebound from a 74-64 loss to Los Angeles on Thursday. It is Atlanta�s second and final trip to Bankers Life Fieldhouse this regular season as Indiana tries to avenge a pair of home and road losses to the Dream already this season.
� Saturday�s game is the last of five Fever games in a 10-day stretch between August 1 and August 10. Eight of its remaining 13 games are on the road, including a three-game West Coast trip next week.
� Since the All-Star Break, Indiana is 2-2. The Fever has won two of its last three games and nine of its past 13 since June 28.
� After opening the season 1-7, Indiana surged to the .500 mark for the first time since May, with nine wins in 12 games prior to Thursday�s loss to the Sparks. The Fever hopes to return to .500 with a win Saturday, while retaining sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference.
� A Fever win over the Dream would be Indiana�s third in four games, its 10th in 14 games and its third this week against a team in first or second-place in its respective conference. A victory would move the Fever within two games of the second-place Dream.
� A loss would drop Indiana two games below .500 mark and represent consecutive Fever losses for the first time since its 7-game losing streak in June. A loss would be the Fever�s eighth home defeat in 2013, the most since falling nine times in 2001 and 11 times in its first season in 2000. A loss would also clinch the 2013 Fever-Dream series for Atlanta (3 wins, 1 game remaining).
� Shavonte Zellous (245) needs three free throws to pass Ebony Hoffman (247) in the No. 5 spot on the Indiana chart for career free throws.
� Seventy-eight-and-a-half (78.5) games have been lost by Fever players this season, mostly due to injury, for an average of 3.74 players per game. Games missed � Jessica Davenport (21); Katie Douglas (19); Jeanette Pohlen (18); Erin Phillips (13); Tamika Catchings (3); Layshia Clarendon (3); Jessica Breland (2); Briann January (0.5).
Probable Starters
Fever: F - Tamika Catchings, C - Erlana Larkins, G - Karima Christmas, G - Shavonte Zellous, G - Briann January
Dream: F - Angel McCoughtry, F - Le'coe Willingham, C - Erika de Souza, G - Armintie Herrington, G - Alex Bentley
Last Meeting
Erika de Souza scored 17 points and McCoughtry added 16 to lead the Dream to a 76-60 victory on June 25 over the Indiana Fever. Shavonte Zellous finished with 18 points and Karima Christmas had 16 for Indiana. The Fever had just eight available players, with Catchings sidelined for the second straight game and Douglas out for the sixth. Atlanta had a 36-30 lead at halftime and outscored the Fever by 10 points in the third quarter. Indiana cut the lead to three early in the third on Christmas' three-point play, but Jasmine Thomas added another 3 moments later to make it 46-36. The Dream's biggest lead was 19, a mark first reached on Tiffany Hayes' 20-footer in the final minute of the third. De Souza added 10 rebounds and four blocks. Thomas, Aneika Henry and Alex Bentley each finished with eight points for Atlanta.
Last Games
Fever vs. Sparks: When Candace Parker returned to the floor August 8 against the Indiana Fever, Jantel Lavender didn't forget what she learned during Parker's absence, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a reserve role to lead Los Angeles to a 74-64 win over the Fever. She was an efficient 9-of-13 from the field against the Fever, scoring 12 of her 18 points in the first half. Parker added 17 points and six rebounds for the Sparks, who won their third straight game. The Sparks used a 13-0 run to open up a 32-13 lead early in the second quarter. After the lopsided first quarter, the Fever outscored Los Angeles 51-47 the rest of the way, getting within 53-48 in the second half, but couldn't climb all the way out of the hole they dug. Led by Lavender and Parker, Los Angeles scored 50 points in the paint. Tamika Catchings led Indiana with 17 points, and Erlana Larkins added 11 points, 13 rebounds and six steals. The Fever shot just 34 percent from the field.
Dream vs. Mercury: In a game that had both teams taking double-digit leads and then running off long stretches of points, it came down to the final seconds. Diana Taurasi scored 28 points and the Mercury held off the Dream's fourth-quarter rally 82-76 on Saturday night to snap a three-game skid. Phoenix led by 14 in the fourth quarter before Atlanta pulled within one with just more than a minute remaining. DeWanna Bonner finished with 23 points as Phoenix won for just the second time in its last eight games. Angel McCoughtry had 33 points and eight assists for Atlanta, which was playing for the first time since July 24. Erika de Souza added 16 points and 11 rebounds as Atlanta, second in the Eastern Conference, lost for the fifth time in its last six. Atlanta dropped to 0-5 on the road against Western Conference teams this season. Phoenix improved to 6-1 against the East and beat Atlanta for the first time since Aug. 11, 2011.
Series
With wins in May and June, the Dream leads the series with Indiana, 12-11. Indiana had three wins in five meetings last season. Counting the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Fever beat the Dream in 5 of 8 contests last year. Counting Atlanta�s 86-77 win in Indy during the Fever�s home opener, Indiana is 8-4 at home against the Dream since Atlanta entered the WNBA in 2008.