Indiana Fever (12-14) vs. New York Liberty (19-8)

Date: Thursday, September 1, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
Television: NBA TV, FOX Sports Indiana
Webcast: Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA League Pass on FeverBasketball.com. PLease note: Webcasts during games televised on FOX Sports Indiana may not be available in local market areas due to blackout restrictions.

Probable Starters
Fever– F- Tamika Catchings, F-Lynetta Kizer, C-Erlana Larkins, G- Shenise Johnson, G-Briann January
Liberty– F- Swin Cash, F- Tina Charles, C- Carolyn Swords, G- Tanisha Wright, G- Sugar Rodgers

Storylines & Promotion
• The Indiana Fever wrap up a three-game home stand Thursday night as they play host to the New York Liberty for the final time this season. The Fever will host Pet Heroes Night presented by Church Brothers Thursday with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Also, the first 1,200 fans will receive a free wallet cling courtesy of First Financial Bank.

• Great seats still remain for Thursday’s game. For tickets and more information, please visit FeverBasketball.com. Thursday’s game will be aired live locally on FOX Sports Indiana with coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m.

• Needing to keep their ground in the WNBA playoff picture, the Fever fell to seventh place in the standings after a second consecutive home game Tuesday night, a 65-79 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. Indiana is currently two games ahead of the Washington Mystics and Seattle Storm, who currently hold an eight-place tie with identical 10-16 records.

• The Liberty (19-8) currently have a strong hold on the third spot in the playoffs, sitting five games ahead of the fourth-place Atlanta Dream (14-13) with only seven games left to play.

• The Fever have struggled on the offensive end in their two losses since the Olympic break. Indiana has been held under 70 points in both outings and has shot a combined 36.4 percent (48-132) from the field and 16.1 percent (5-31) from three-point range. The Fever are 0-9 this season when shooting under 40 percent from the field and 0-12 when shooting under 45 percent. Indiana is 11-5 this season when shooting 45 percent or better, and 5-1 when shooting 50 percent or better.

• Erlana Larkins has led the team in scoring in both games since the Olympic break. She posted team highs with 12 points and eight rebounds Tuesday against Phoenix. She currently ranks sixth in the WNBA in rebounding with 7.8 rebounds per game and has led Indiana in rebounding in 17 of 26 games.

• The Liberty have won two of the three matchups with the Fever this season, including a 78-75 overtime win at Indiana on June 19. A victory Thursday night would give New York a winning record in the regular season series against Indiana for the first time since the 2002 season when the Liberty defeated the Fever in two of the three matchups that year.

• After beginning the season 2-3, New York has posted a 17-5 record since June 1. The Liberty are led by MVP candidate Tina Charles, who ranks second in the WNBA with 21.0 points per game while leading the league circuit with 9.7 rebounds per game.

Last Meeting
(July 21, 2016) NEW YORK – Indiana entered the Olympic break in emphatic fashion, earning an impressive 82-70 road win over the Liberty on July 21. The Fever took control of the game early and eventually built a 12-point lead in the first half before entering the locker room with a 45-38 halftime advantage. New York, playing in the morning on the back half of a back-to-back, clawed its way back and eventually took a one-point lead, 56-55, with 1:09 left in the third. However, Indiana put the game away with a 17-4 as the Fever forced six turnovers and held the Liberty to 12 points in the final quarter. Lynetta Kizer led the Fever and set a new career high with 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Marissa Coleman and Shenise Johnson added 14 and 10 points respectively off the bench, while Erlana Larkins posted 10 points and six boards in 31 minutes.

Series
New York snapped a four-game regular season losing streak to the Fever with its win over Indiana on June 3. The Fever won four of the five regular season matchups over New York during the 2015 regular season before defeating the Liberty in three games during the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana holds a 40-24 all-time regular season record over New York in the history of the series, including a 23-8 record at home.

Fever Film Room: WNBA President Lisa Borders —