Indiana Fever (5-27) vs Chicago Sky (12-20)

Date: Saturday, August 18, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
TV: FOX Sports Indiana, NBA TV
Live Stream: FOX Sports App, WNBA League Pass

Probable Starters
Fever: F – Victoria Vivians, F – Candice Dupree, C – Natalie Achonwa, G – Cappie Pondexter, G – Erica Wheeler
Sky: F – Diamond DeShields, F – Gabby Williams, C – Stefanie Dolson, G – Allie Quigley, G – Courtney Vandersloot

The Indiana Fever look to defeat the Chicago Sky in their last home game of the season on Saturday. The Fever are in search of their sixth win on the year after falling to the Washington Mystics, 74-62 on Wednesday night. Chicago is coming off a win over the Minnesota Lynx, 91-88 on Tuesday.

The Fever were led by Natalie Achonwa’s 15 points on Wednesday and Candice Dupree’s eight points helped her become the ninth player in WNBA history to eclipse 6,000 career points. Rookie forward Diamond DeShields was the powerhouse for the Sky in their victory over Minnesota, scoring 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field. Point guard Courtney Vandersloot contributed 10 assists while breaking the WNBA record for most assists in a season (241).

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

Storylines & Promotion
• Indiana enters its final weekend of play by hosting the Chicago Sky on Saturday afternoon, then finishing the 2018 slate in the Windy City on Sunday evening.

• Just as the Fever began the season with a back-to-back weekend and three of their first four games against the Sky and Washington Mystics, so too shall Indiana close its season with a back-to-back weekend and three games against Chicago and Washington. Prior to Wednesday’s loss to the Mystics, Indiana had not seen either club since May 24 when the Fever fell to the Mystics for the second time in five days.

• Candice Dupree is three points shy passing Lauren Jackson (6,007) as the eighth-leading scorer in league annals.

• The Fever and Sky both are playing with a pair of rookie first-round draft picks, with Indiana selecting at No. 2 (Kelsey Mitchell) and No. 8 (Victoria Vivians) last April; and Chicago with consecutive picks at No. 3 (Diamond DeShields) and No. 4 (Gabby Williams). A quick stats comparison shows Mitchell starting 17 of 32 games and averaging 12.8 points for Indiana, with Vivians starting 24 of 32 and scoring at an 8.8-point clip. For the Sky, DeShields has started 31 of 32 contests with 13.7-point scoring. Williams has started 28 of 32 games and averages 7.3 points per game.

• The Fever are 2-4 since the All-Star Break. Indiana’s recent two-game win streak was its first since June 15 and 18, 2017, at home against Atlanta and at Chicago.

• The Fever led Washington 60-58 through three quarters Wednesday night, shooting 42 percent overall and 3-of-10 from 3-point range. But in the fourth, the Mystics took advantage of eight Indiana misses from beyond the arc and outscored the Fever 18-2, for a 76-62 win.

• At New York on Aug. 4, it was Indiana that outscored the Liberty 17-2 in the fourth quarter. Wednesday, it was the Fever on the down side of an 18-2 margin. Both matched the second-fewest points ever scored in the fourth quarter of any WNBA game.

• The Fever is the first WNBA team ever to have a pair of rookies both eclipse 60 3-point field goals (Kelsey Mitchell 67; Victoria Vivians 63). Similarly, the Fever is the seventh club in league history with a pair of players to eclipse 60 3FGs. Indiana is within reach of becoming the second WNBA team ever with two players reaching 70 3-pointers.

• All five Fever victories have come while holding opponents below 80 points. Prior to Wednesday’s loss, Indiana was 4-0 during 18 games since June 24 when opponents fail to reach 87 points; and 0-14 in all remaining games. Since June 24, opponents topped 90 points nine times.

• Sky scoring leader Allie Quigley had a short, three-game stint with the Fever in 2010, before signing a free agent deal with her hometown Sky. She has since become a two-time All-Star and the WNBA’s two-time 3-point contest shooting champion.

• Playing the Sky always is a homecoming of sorts for the Indiana coaching staff headed by Pokey Chatman. Chatman was Chicago’s head coach and GM for six seasons from 2011-16. Assistant coach Christie Sides was at her side for each of those seasons. Assistant coach Jessie Miller was a four-year starter at nearby UIC, and was Chatman’s video coordinator with the Sky in 2015 and 2016.

• Indiana has beaten Chicago in 18 of 25 meetings in Indianapolis, though Chicago has won two straight games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, counting an Aug. 4 decision late in 2017. A Chicago win on Saturday would mark only the second time the Sky have ever won two road games in the I-65 series in the same season (Chicago swept a four-game series in 2015).