Indiana Fever (14-15) vs. Chicago Sky (15-14)

Date: Friday, September 9, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
Television: FOX Sports Indiana

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-Marissa Coleman, C-Erlana Larkins, G- Erica Wheeler, G-Briann January
Sky– F- Tamera Young, F- Elena Delle Donne, C- Imani Boyette, G- Cappie Pondexter, G- Courtney Vandersloot

Storylines & Promotion
• With five regular season games left to play, the Indiana Fever find themselves entrenched in a tight battle for playoff positioning. Friday’s game against the Chicago Sky could go a long way in determining Indiana’s playoff fate.

• The Fever will host Breast Health Awareness Night presented by Community Health Network Friday night. Fans are encouraged to #WearPink in support of breast health awareness. For the seventh straight year, Fever players will wear special-order pink uniforms produced by adidas.

• Currently the Fever sit in sixth place in the WNBA standings with a 14-15 record. Chicago is currently tied with Atlanta in fourth place at 15-14 overall. Friday marks the third and final regular season meeting between the Fever and Sky. With the teams splitting the previous two meetings, a victory would give the Fever the tiebreaker in a head-to-head playoff scenario. Indiana already has won the head-to-head tiebreaker with Atlanta after winning two of the three matchups with the Dream this season.

• A fifth of sixth seed in the playoffs would ensure a home game in the WNBA’s new one-game, elimination format in the first round of the postseason. A fourth-place finish would give Indiana a first-round bye.

• Immediately following Friday’s contest, the Breast Health Awareness Live Auction will feature every player’s game-worn pink jersey among other autographed items for bid to benefit the Community Health Network Foundation’s Oncology Patient Assistance Fund. The entire Fever team and coach Stephanie White will assist with auction proceedings that also include pink shoes; autographed photos; and other autographed items from Fever players. Over the past six seasons, Indiana Fever Breast Health Awareness auctions have raised over $170,000 for Community’s cancer patients.

• The evening includes a parade of breast cancer survivors during halftime. The first 1,500 fans will receive a water bottle courtesy of Community. Also, Friday’s game is a Lucas Oil Family Night presented by IndyStar. Each family night ticket includes a Pepsi, chips, hot dog, Fever hat, and a postgame free throw on the main court!

• After grabbing eight rebounds in Indiana’s road victory at San Antonio Tuesday night, Tamika Catchings is closing in on Lisa Leslie’s all-time career rebounding record. With five games left to play, Catchings needs 17 rebounds to pass Leslie (3,307) for first place on the list.

• Shenise Johnson continued her offensive outburst Tuesday night in San Antonio as she finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Johnson has made her last 25 free throw attempts, which ranks as the fifth-longest streak in franchise history. She ranks third in the WNBA this season while shooting 91.8 percent from the foul line.

• Johnson has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games while averaging 12.2 points per game over that span.

• Marissa Coleman has also enjoyed a late-season offensive resurgence, scoring in double figures in five of the last six games and averaging 11.6 points per game over that span. She is shooting 43 percent from the field (21-49) over the last five contests after shooting 29 percent from the field over the first 21 games this season.

• The Fever and Sky have split two regular season meetings this season as each team has stolen a road game on the other’s home court. The Sky escaped Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a 73-64 win back on June 10, but Indiana answered with a 95-83 win in Chicago on June 29.

• Chicago is led by Olympic gold medalist and the reigning WNBA MVP, Elena Delle Donne. The do-everything forward currently leads the league in scoring with 21.5 points per game while leading the Sky with 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Delle Donne is shooting 42.6 percent from three-point range and a league-best 93.5 percent from the free throw line this season.

Last Meeting
(June 29, 2016) CHICAGO – Playing her first game after the passing of her former college coach, Pat Summit, Tamika Catchings turned in an inspired performance and she finished with a season-high 26 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead Indiana to a 95-83 road win at Chicago. Catchings led the Fever out of the gates with eight first-quarter points and 14 before halftime, while guards Briann January and Erica Wheeler helped facilitate a Fever attack that recorded 12 assists on 17 field goals in the first half. Although the lead dwindled to as close as four point midway through the third quarter, the Fever never trailed in the contest. Indiana built its lead to as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter while cruising to its second straight road win of the week. Catchings shot 7-for-11 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free throw line on the day. Erlana Larkins finished with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Wheeler added 10 points and a career-best nine assists.

Series
The Fever and Sky have split two regular season meetings this season after the Sky swept all four matchups during the 2015 campaign. Including Chicago’s road win at Indiana on June 10, the Sky have won three straight road games inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana still leads the overall series 31-13 with a 17-5 record at home.

Fever Film Room —