Indiana Fever (8-14) vs New York Liberty (10-10)

Date: Friday, July 28, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
TV: MyINDY-TV 23
Live Stream: WNBA League Pass

Probable Starters
Fever: F- Tiffany Mitchell, F- Candice Dupree, C- Natalie Achonwa, G- Erica Wheeler, G- Briann January
Liberty: F- Shavonte Zellous, F- Tina Charles, C- Kia Vaughn, G- Epiphanny Prince, G- Bria Hartley

The Indiana Fever return home after the team’s longest road trip of the season to take on the New York Liberty on Friday night. It’s the first matchup of the season between the two squads.

Since returning from an early-season injury June 18, Briann January has been a steady presence on the floor for the Fever. She’s averaging 10.6 points and a four assists per contest, scoring in double figures in eight of 11 games. She’s had three games with seven assists over that stretch, all Fever wins.

Practice Report

Storylines & Promotion
• The Fever lost 84-82 in Dallas last Tuesday. Briann January led the Fever with 16 points and Natalie Achonwa had 13. Candice Dupree scored 12 points and added six rebounds. Indiana outshot and outrebounded Dallas, but the Wings rallied late for the win behind 21 points from Skylar Diggins-Smith.

• Tiffany Mitchell made her fourth start of the season, her first since June 7 against Phoenix. She scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.

• Rookie Erica McCall set new career bests in scoring and rebounding, posting nine points and five rebounds against the Wings. She’s seen steady action in the past five games, averaging six points in 13.6 minutes per contest.

• Another Erica also had a banner night, as Erica Wheeler dished a career-high nine assists. Wheeler had two opportunities to put the Fever ahead in the final minute, but missed a 3-pointer from the win with 34 seconds to play, and another attempt from the baseline corner as time expired.

• The Fever are on pace to set a new franchise record for free throw shooting for the second season in a row. The team’s current mark of 85.4 percent tops last year’s 84.5 percent conversion rate. Natalie Achonwa tied her career high in made free throws with seven against Dallas, and Tiffany Mitchell is seventh in the league with a 90.7 percent figure.

• The Liberty suffered a one-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx, 76-75, Tuesday night. Tina Charles had 24 points and 16 rebounds for New York, and Epiphanny Prince added 19 points.

• Charles will be a tough matchup for the Fever. The former league MVP is second in the WNBA in rebounding with 10.2 per game. She’s also second in scoring, putting up 20.7 points per contest. The Liberty as a team are best in the league in rebounding, grabbing 39.3 boards per outing.

• Marissa Coleman is 14 points shy of 2,000 points in her WNBA career. She currently has 1,986 points with three different clubs (Mystics, Sparks, Fever).

• Erlana Larkins was drafted by the Liberty in 2008, spending two seasons with New York. Shavonte Zellous played six seasons with the Indiana Fever, winning a title in 2012 and reaching the WNBA Finals in 2015. New York assistant coach Herb Williams was drafted by the Fever’s NBA counterpart, the Pacers, in 1981, and spent seven and a half seasons with the franchise.

• The Fever are 41-24 all-time against the Liberty, including 24-8 at home. The Fever have won seven of the past eight in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, including the most recent contest with the Liberty last September when the Fever scored 98 points, the most points they’ve ever posted in the series.