INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s offense started hot but sputtered down the stretch as the Fever fell to the Chicago Sky 70-64 on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Indiana had a 21-17 lead at the end of the first quarter but shot just 16-of-57 from the field over the remaining three quarters in their third straight home loss.
“In the first half, we moved the basketball and the ball didn’t stick. We got some good looks,” said Fever head coach Pokey Chatman. “Then we when got down to the fourth quarter, the ball stayed on one side of the floor. There were maybe one or two actions. When you’re grinding it out in a low scoring game, you’re really playing scouting report defense and those things become magnified.”
The Sky were led by veteran guard Allie Quigley who had 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting beyond the three-point arc. Cheyenne Parker came off the bench to secure a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Courtney Vandersloot had nine points and eight assists to help fuel the Chicago offense.
Indiana was led by second year guard Kelsey Mitchell for the third time in four games, scoring 16 points and grabbing five boards. Center Natalie Achonwa had 15 points and five boards, while Erica Wheeler dished out eight assists. Guard Tiffany Mitchell continued her strong play off the bench with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Indiana raced out to an early 8-0 lead, as Candice Dupree, Wheeler, and Achonwa all gashed Chicago inside for buckets in the paint. Quigley then hit two jumpers from the elbow to make it 8-4. Kelsey Mitchell cashed in a three-pointer and gave the Fever a seven-point lead, 11-4.
Stefanie Dolson hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer midway through the quarter to help propel Chicago. Fever rookie center Teaira McCowan scored from the post in consecutive possessions for Indiana, shooting over the 6-foot, 4-inch Parker with relative ease.
McCowan finished the game with eight points and grabbed four boards.
“She’s moving that body and doing her work early,” said Chatman of her 6-foot, 7-inch rookie. “Catching it deep, putting people in jail – you are seeing that. When the ball is moving on the perimeter and her man has to help, she was able to get a couple of offensive rebounds and putbacks.”
Kelsey Mitchell hit a deep two with just two seconds remaining in the first to give Indiana a 21-17 lead to end the frame. Mitchell led Indiana with seven points in the opening quarter.
Parker gave Chicago their first lead of the game in the opening minutes of the second quarter after scoring six straight, 23-21. The Sky defense stepped up to the plate as well, holding Indiana scoreless for the first six minutes of the second. Betnijah Laney’s three-pointer broke the drought and restored Indiana’s lead, 24-23.
“We still got great shots. We got shots that were shots we normally hit,” said Achonwa. “Unfortunately, the ball just wasn’t falling. In those instances, we need to be a bit more aggressive. In the first half we only shot three free throws, so maybe trying to attack the rim more.”
Diamond DeShields and Parker got into the paint for layups that boosted Chicago to a 30-29 lead to end the first quarter. After starting the game on an 8-0 run, the Fever scored just eight points on 3-of-21 shooting from the field during the second quarter.
The two teams emerged looking more composed offensively out of the halftime break. Jantel Lavender scored the opening bucket of the third from the post before Indiana scored six quick points, including four from Achonwa, giving Indiana a 35-32 lead.
Vandersloot and DeShields then hit back to back three-pointers to return the lead to Chicago, 38-35.
Things remained close until Quigley hit a pair of three-pointers that gave Chicago their first double-digit lead of the contest, 51-41. McCowan was able to score on a second chance basket, but Indiana’s offense slowed again with just four points in the last five minutes of the third.
Chicago took a 51-43 lead into the game’s final quarter.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter, as Chicago was able to keep Indiana at arm’s length. The Fever did cut the deficit to as few as five, 67-62, with 18.5 seconds remaining, but time was not on Indiana’s side. Chicago held on in the final seconds to secure their first road win of the 2019 season.
“We were trying to dig as deep as possible, we just didn’t have a lot of energy,” said Kelsey Mitchell. “It was draining all of us. We tried to pick it up at the end of the game – if we had the same energy at the beginning that we did at the end there is no telling what we could have done. We have an opportunity to get it right next time.”
Both teams set new season lows in points and field goal percentage. Chicago scored 70 points on 32.4 percent shooting (22-of-68) and Indiana finished with 64 points while shooting 33.3 percent (26-of-78)
The Fever embark on a three-game road trip beginning in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Highlights
Kelsey Mitchell
Mitchell, who led Indiana with seven points in the opening quarter, finished with 16 points.
Natalie Achonwa
Achonwa finished with 15 points and five rebounds.