Indiana Fever (3-4) vs. Phoenix Mercury (4-3)

Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
TV: none
Live Stream: Twitter

Probable Starters
Fever: F- Marissa Coleman, F- Candice Dupree, C- Erlana Larkins, G- Tiffany Mitchell, G- Briann January
Mercury: F- Stephanie Talbot, F- Camille Little, C- Brittney Griner, G- Diana Taurasi, G- Danielle Robinson

The Fever look to continue their home winning streak and earn some revenge on the Phoenix Mercury Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Fever are 3-0 so far this season at home, and will be looking for win number four against a Mercury team that defeated Indiana 85-62 on May 17 in Phoenix.

The Fever struggled in that loss, but Candice Dupree acquitted herself well in her first game against her former team, since being traded to Indiana in February. She had team highs in scoring and rebounding with 14 points and nine rebounds, with the rebounding total also being her season-high.

Practice Reports

Stats & Storylines
• The Fever earned their third win of the year against the Dallas Wings, Saturday night, maintaining their unbeaten home record with a 91-85 victory. Dupree had 18 points to lead the team, with Briann January adding 16 points and seven assists. Natalie Achonwa continued her recent strong play with 12 points and a season-high seven rebounds off the bench.

• The Mercury fell 88-72 on the road to the New York Liberty, Sunday night. Brittney Griner had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead Phoenix in both categories. Diana Taurasi, who recently passed former Fever star Tamika Catchings for second on the league’s all-time scoring chart, added 17 points.

• Against Dallas, Erlana Larkins (now 1,120 points) passed Tully Bevilaqua for eighth place on the Fever’s career scoring list; with 1, 095 rebounds, she needs 21 to pass Ebony Hoffman (1,115) for second place in team history.

• Marissa Coleman needs 27 points to reach 1,000 in her Fever career and 79 for 2,000 in her WNBA career.

• Natalie Achonwa is the WNBA’s leader in field goal percentage, converting 70 percent of her shots. She has also been a strong presence off the bench for the Fever, scoring in double figures in the past three games and four times overall on the year.

• The Fever bench has provided a spark to the team so far this season. Besides Achonwa, Tiffany Mitchell has also scored in double-figures four times off the bench and once more as a spot starter. The Fever bench has outscored the opposing team’s bench in all seven games.

• Dupree has scored in double figures in five of the past six games. She leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. She’s also shot 50 percent or better in six straight games.

• The Fever are 3-0 when they turn the ball over 12 or fewer times, and 0-4 when they commit 13 or more turnovers.

• The current three-game home winning streak to open the season is the Fever’s longest since 2007, when the team won its first six home games.

• Besides Dupree, the Fever have several ties to Phoenix and the Mercury. Phoenix guard Shay Murphy played 39 games for the Fever in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Phoenix guard Yvonne Turner played with the Fever’s Shenise Johnson for UNIQA Sopron last winter, where the two won a Hungarian League championship. Finally, Larkins and Mercury forward Camille Little were college teammates at North Carolina.

• The Fever are 20-13 all-time against Phoenix, including an 11-6 record at home. The Mercury have won the past three matchups overall, including last season’s first round playoff game, and two straight in Indiana, but the Fever won five of the previous seven in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

• Johnson has missed the past two games with a sore knee for precautionary measures, but could return to play against Phoenix.