Game Information
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2013
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Site: Philips Arena (Atlanta, GA)
Broadcast Information
Television - None
Radio - None
Webcast - Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA Live Access on FeverBasketball.com
Storylines & Promotions
� The Fever tries to overcome its string of decimating injuries and snap a six-game losing streak when Indiana travels to Atlanta for an afternoon tipoff (12:00 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, June 25.
� Indiana�s losing streak is the second-longest in franchise history, matching similar streaks of 2007, 2004 and 2003. The start to the 2013 season is Indiana�s slowest since another 1-6 beginning in 2001, the franchise�s second season.
� In its defense of the 2012 WNBA championship, Indiana has been beset by a series of debilitating injuries. Four Fever regulars who combined for 60 regular and postseason starts last season are out through at least mid-July with their minutes being filled by a rookie (Layshia Clarendon); two replacement players (Erin Thorn and Jasmine Hassell); a free agent who didn�t play in the league last year (Jessica Breland); and a pair of subs who saw limited minutes in 2012 (Karima Christmas and Sasha Goodlett).
� Counting single-game injuries to Tamika Catchings and Layshia Clarendon, the Fever has had six different players miss action through the season�s first seven games. The Fever has already used four different starting lineups. Last Saturday, the Fever had nine healthy players including four reserves who combined for fewer than 200 total minutes in the league last season � all by Erin Thorn. None of Breland, Clarendon or Hassell were in the WNBA last summer.
� Since Indiana visited Philips Arena in the 2012 WNBA Playoffs, the Fever and Dream have moved in opposite directions. Indiana came away with a Game 2 win, 103-88, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and later went on to win its first WNBA crown. But since the start of the 2013 season, Fever fortunes have plummeted. While the Fever enters Tuesday�s affair on a six-game skid, Atlanta has won two straight while sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 7-1 record.
� Either the Fever or Dream has captured the Eastern Conference championship in each of the past four seasons. After Indiana represented the East in the 2009 WNBA Finals, Atlanta advanced to the Finals in each of 2010 and 2011. In the Finals, Indiana fell 3-2 to Phoenix for the WNBA title in 2009, and won the 2012 crown, sporting a 5-4 Finals record overall. Atlanta, by comparison, was swept by Seattle and Minnesota in consecutive Finals appearances, owning an 0-6 mark in Finals competition.
� After six games, Shavonte Zellous paces all Fever scorers with 18.0 points per game, good for seventh in the WNBA. Zellous has scored in double figures in every game � capped by her regular-season career high of 29 points against Phoenix, 6/8.
� Indiana has been tied or owned a lead at halftime in 5 of 7 contests. The Fever has lost all five games in which it has been tied or led at intermission, however, including Saturday against Chicago.
� The Fever ranks 11th in the WNBA in rebounding thus far, with 29.4 rebounds per game. While Erlana Larkins (8.0) and Tamika Catchings (6.3) combine to average 14.3 boards per game, the rest of the Fever lineup averages just 15.1.
Probable Starters
Fever: F - Karima Christmas, F - Erlana Larkins, C - Sasha Goodlett, G - Shavonte Zellous, G - Briann January
Sky: F - Angel McCoughtry, F- Lecoe Willingham, C - Erika de Souza, G - Jasmine Thomas, G - Armintie Herrington
Last Meeting
The Indiana Fever dropped their 2013 home opener with an 86-77 loss to the Atlanta Dream. Indiana and the Dream were locked in a tightly contested game until late in the third quarter. Atlanta scored 24 points off of Indiana�s 15 turnovers and they outrebounded the Fever, 36-29. Tamika Catchings scored 20 points with four assists. Erlana Larkins had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Last Games
Fever vs Sky: Indiana fell to the Chicago Sky 71-61 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday evening. The Fever led from the middle of the first to the middle of the fourth quarter before the Sky used a 15-5 run to pull away in the final period. During that span, Indiana went nearly six minutes without a field goal. Offense was tough to come by for the Fever as they shot 23.3 percent in the second half and 31.7 percent from the game. Shavonte Zellous was the only Fever player to score in double figures with 17 points. Jessica Breland had eight points and seven rebounds.
Dream vs. Sun: Angel McCoughtry had a game-high 34 points with five rebounds and three steals in the Dream�s 78-77 victory over the Sun on Sunday. Atlanta led by as many as 15 points with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. McCoughtry, the only player who reached double figures for Atlanta, scored the final points of the game on a layup with 51.4 seconds left for the Dream. She also set a franchise record for most field-goal attempts (33). Jasmine Thomas had seven points and six rebounds for Dream. Alex Bentley scored nine points.
Series
With Atlanta�s 86-77 win on May 31, the Fever-Dream series is tied at 11 wins apiece. 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. The Fever is 3-7 in regular season meetings at Philips Arena, winning on May 27 last season to snap a five-game losing streak at the venue dating to the Dream�s first season in 2008.