Tamika Catchings missed only one shot in 12 minutes of play, racking up 16 points to lead a balanced Indiana Fever attack to an 89-69 matinee win in Washington.
“I felt great. This is the first game I played since last season. I’ve had a lot of time off and a lot of rust… But just getting out there I felt good getting up and down,” said Catchings. “I love the rhythm of the team. Just practicing with everybody and how much fun we have out there, that kind of translates practice into the game.”
Catchings Scores 16 in Preseason Debut
Indiana also got a trio of 12-point scorers: Lynetta Kizer, Maggie Lucas, and Brene Moseley. Thirteen Fever players saw on-court minutes in the preseason tune-up, and 11 contributed points.
The Fever dominated in the paint, outscoring the Mystics 40-24 from inside. Fever head coach Stephanie White was pleased with the efforts in the lane.
STATS: Catchings Leads All Scorers With 16 »»
“I think that our guards did a pretty good job trying to attack off the dribble. I think you want to attack off the dribble and give the extra pass because we want to force the defensive rotation and I felt like we were a little more aggressive today. We have more of a quickness off the perimeter than we normally have and we were able to get two feet in the paint. I also think we did a decent job of scoring in transition.”
With the Fever wrapping up the preseason with a 2-0 record, Catchings is gearing up for her final season.
“I’m excited. I’m really excited about this year and looking at this being my last season, but then also celebrating 20 years with the league and all that encompasses. I’m really excited. I feel like the energy is high, I like the morale of the whole league, it’s the best it’s ever been and I’m excited to be a part of that.”