Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Site: Philips Arena (Atlanta, GA)
Radio: None
Television: NBA-TV
Webcast: Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA Live Access on FeverBasketball.com.

Storylines & Promotion

• Indiana (1-4) travels for the first of two road games this week. The Fever, who sit in sixth in the Eastern Conference, begin with an afternoon showdown with fifth-place Atlanta (2-3) this Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. ET. The team then travels to New York for a rematch with the Liberty, June 19.
• Head coach Stephanie White is looking for her second win after dropping four of the first five games of the season with a patchwork roster. She recorded her first win against the Phoenix Mercury, 77-74 on June 12.
• Against Chicago on Sunday, the Fever played the game without three of its inside players. Tamika Catchings sat out because of a one-game league suspension; Catchings’ backup, Natasha Howard, was out with an injured hand and Erlana Larkins has played only sparingly this season with an injured knee. Also injured for Indiana was Shavonte Zellous, who sat out the second half with a lower-back problem. With Indiana using a small lineup, Chicago scored 46 points in the paint. The Sky pulled down 39 defensive rebounds, which is the most allowed in franchise history.
• Marissa Coleman has scored in double figures in four of Indiana’s five games while averaging 13.4 points per game. She currently ranks first on the team and 17th in the WNBA in scoring average.
• Rookie Natalie Achonwa is making an immediate impact on the Fever, averaging 11 points and 5.4 rebounds per game through the first five games of her WNBA career. She ranks second among all WNBA rookies in scoring average and fourth in rebounding average.
• After missing the first three games of the season, Shavonte Zellous made her season debut against Phoenix (6/12), finishing with seven points, three rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes off the bench.
• Howard (out) will miss 7-10 days due to cutting her hand on a parade float during a fall in the Indy Pride Parade last Saturday. Zellous (out) tweaked her back during travel from Croatia, and aggravated it during Friday’s win over Phoenix. Larkins (out) continues nursing a bruised right knee and a return date is unknown.

Probable Starters

Fever – F-Tamika Catchings, F-Marissa Coleman, C-Natalie Achonwa, G-Layshia Clarendon, G-Briann January

Dream – F-Angel McCoughtry, F-Sancho Lyttle, C-Erika De Souza , G-Tiffany Hayes, G-Matee Ajavon

Last Meeting

(July 12, 2014) Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points and Erika de Souza had 13 points and 12 rebounds in Atlanta’s win over Indiana, 93-74. Angel McCoughtry and Jasmine Thomas added 11 points each and rookie Shoni Schimmel contributed 10 for first-place Atlanta. For the Fever, Tamika Catchings finished with 14 points and Briann January added 13 before leaving the game in the third quarter due to injury. Erlana Larkins record her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards. The Dream trailed 19-16 before Schimmel’s layup with 3:07 to go in the first quarter started a 25-5 run that put them ahead for good. The 55 first-half points by Atlanta tied the most an opponent has scored against the Fever since Minnesota scored 60 on June 7, 2009. The Fever cut the 21-point halftime deficit to 66-56 on Karima Christmas’ free throw with 2:07 left in the third quarter. However, DeLisha Milton-Jones made two free throws in the final minute of the period, and Schimmel made a three-pointer to open the fourth and push the Dream’s lead to 73-58. The Fever got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Last Games

Fever: (June 14, 2015) Chicago captured a 98-72 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with the Sky placing six scorers in double digits. Chicago was led by Elena Delle Donne with 24 and its starting backcourt of Cappie Pondexter and Courtney Vandersloot combined for 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Indiana found itself down 41 points in the third quarter, which tied a franchise record for largest deficit in a game. Due to injuries, Indiana had only eight players available after halftime. Marissa Coleman led Indiana with 16 points and added six rebounds. Natalie Achonwa had 12 and Maggie Lucas added 10 points.

Dream: (June 14, 2015) Despite a 24-point performance by Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta fell to the Connecticut Sun 64-82 on Sunday. Erika de Souza and Tiffany Hayes both added 10 points in the loss. The Dream raced out to a 20-5 lead early, but the Sun used a 13-2 run to trim the deficit to four at the end of the first quarter. Connecticut then dominated much of the second quarter to run up an 11-point lead before Atlanta put together an eight-point run to trail by three, 39-36, at the half. Connecticut took over in the fourth quarter, using a 9-2 run to go up eight, then scored 13 straight to build a 20-point lead. The Sun’s Kelsey Bone and Shekinna Stricklen both scored 18 points.

Series
The Fever and Dream meet for the first time this WNBA season on June 16. Atlanta holds a 16-14 edge overall against Indiana, as well as a 9-5 lead at Philips Arena. However, the Fever have won two consecutive games on the road against the Dream as they try to make it a third Tuesday afternoon. The two teams met five times last season with the road team winning every matchup.