Indiana Fever (2-17) vs Minnesota Lynx (11-8)

Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Time: 12:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
TV: MyINDY-TV 23
Live Stream: WNBA League Pass

Probable Starters
Fever: F- Candice Dupree, C- Natalie Achonwa, G- Kelsey Mitchell, G- Tiffany Mitchell, G- Victoria Vivians
Lynx: F- Maya Moore, F- Rebekkah Brunson, C- Sylvia Fowles, G- Seimone Augustus, G- Lindsay Whalen

The Indiana Fever return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for a rematch against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday afternoon. The Fever picked up their second win of the season and snapped Minnesota’s seven game win streak, defeating the Lynx, 71-59, last Tuesday. Indiana held Maya Moore to just nine points on the night, while an energized Natalie Achonwa scored 17 points and snatched nine rebounds for the Fever.

The Lynx enter the game following a Saturday loss to the Chicago Sky, 77-63. Indiana is in search of its third win of the year after falling to the Dallas Wings, 90-63, last Thursday.

Injury Report
Guard Shenise Johnson (left knee ACL rehabilitation) remains out and will not play.

Storylines & Promotion
• Indiana hosts Minnesota on Wednesday for the second of three meetings against the Lynx this season, and the first of two consecutive afternoon Kids Days – the Fever are at Minnesota the following Wednesday for the Lynx’ Kids Day.

• Indiana’s Western Conference road trip last week resulted in its best win of the season followed by its worst loss. Indiana toppled the Minnesota Lynx 71-59 to secure its first road win of the year and win at Target Center during the regular season for the first time since 2011. At Dallas though, the Wings outrebounded Indiana by a Fever record-low 47-22 margin and handed the Fever a 27-point defeat, the club’s worst of the season.

• Since the Fever played in Minneapolis last Tuesday, Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson passed former Fever great Tamika Catchings as the all-time rebounding leader in WNBA history. Catchings will be on hand Wednesday to call the game in Brunson’s second appearance since breaking the record last Thursday. Brunson started the game with 3,306 rebounds and finished with 3,318, passing both Lisa Leslie (3,307) and Tamika Catchings (3,316).

• Instead of playing from behind as had been the case throughout the first half of the season, the Fever led early and often last week against the Lynx, surrendering brief leads to the defending champs in each of the second, third and fourth quarters, but never relinquishing momentum. In the game’s final minutes, Indiana scored 10 of the last 12 points including a game-clinching, 26-foot 3-pointer from Cappie Pondexter who played her first game in a Fever uniform and the 400th game of an all-star career.

• Either Kelsey Mitchell (3) or Victoria Vivians (3) has made five 3-pointers on six occasions this season. For sake of comparison, the Fever rookie record is six by Tamika Catchings (7/3/02) and the WNBA rookie standard is seven by Crystal Robinson (7/24/99). Prior to this season, a Fever rookie made five or more 3-pointers in a game nine times in 18 seasons. In 2018, Mitchell (3 times) and Vivians (3) have done it six times in 19 games.

• Rookie duos in the WNBA combined for 7 or more 3-pointers in the same game just three times between 2009 and 2017. The Mitchell-Vivians duo did it three times in a 13-day span from June 16 to June 29, and five times in 17 games.

• Indiana’s Victoria Vivians-Kelsey Mitchell rookie tandem sports 84 3-pointers through 19 games, already fourth in league history by a pair of rookies on the same team.

• Candice Dupree has reached double-figure scoring in 12 of 17 games played. Third-year guard Tiffany Mitchell has scored in double digits in 10 of 19 games. Natalie Achonwa has tallied four double-doubles and reached double-figure scoring in 9 of 19 games. Achonwa and Tiffany Mitchell are the only players to have started every game.

• Overall, the Lynx lead the series and but for a loss last Tuesday at Target Center, have dominated regular season meetings since 2012. The clubs also engaged in a pair of epic WNBA Finals meetings in 2012 and 2015, with Indiana winning the former and Minnesota the latter. The Lynx have won 14 of the past 16 regular season games since July 15, 2011, but Indiana got a huge upset in the series last Tuesday with a stunning 71-59 win in Minneapolis. It marked the first time since 2010 that Minnesota was held below 60 points on its home floor.

• The Fever got a buzzer-beating, 84-82 win on Aug. 6 last season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the Lynx coasted to two wins later the same month, one in Minnesota and one in Indianapolis.

• It was in a four-game Finals series that Indiana won its lone title, in 2012. Similarly, the Lynx got past Indiana in a five-game Finals series in 2015.