Indiana (11-9) vs. Dream (7-13)

Date: Friday, August 7, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Radio: 107.5/1070 The Fan
Television: FOX Sports Indiana
Webcast: Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA Live Access on FeverBasketball.com. (Webcasts during games televised on FOX Sports Indiana may not be available in local market areas due to blackout restrictions.)

Storylines & Promotion

• The Fever (11-9) return home Friday night before embarking on four straight road games as they host Atlanta for the first time this season on Breast Health Awareness Night presented by Community Health Network.
• The first through fifth place teams in the Eastern Conference are all separated by just 3 games, all above .500. New York leads the East with a 13-6 mark, followed by Washington (12-7) and Chicago (13-8) tied for second. Indiana is fourth (11-9) and Connecticut (10-9) is fifth. Atlanta rounds out the East with a 7-13 record.
• With the win last Sunday against Connecticut, the Fever earned their sixth consecutive home victory, tying the fifth-longest home winning streak in franchise history and the longest since the 2012 season. A seventh straight home win would match the third-longest home streak in club history (2010 & 2006).
• Shenise Johnson has now scored double-digits points in nine of her last 10 games, most recently recording 11 points Tuesday at Chicago. She ranks second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage with 44.2 percent shooting (19-of-43).
• Maggie Lucas’ 14 points Tuesday night marked her first double-digit scoring effort since June 19 at New York when she scored 23 points. Lucas currently ranks third in the WNBA in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 43.1 percent from long range (25-of-58). In the last matchup with the Dream, Lucas scored 17 points.
• Natasha Howard scored a season-high 13 points against the Sky. Her previous high was nine points vs. Connecticut on June 30.
• Already the WNBA career leader in steals, Tamika Catchings has recorded 14 steals over the last five games and now needs only 16 thefts to reach 1,000 for her career. Her 1.59 steals per game ranks fifth in the league.
• Fever rookie Natalie Achonwa will represent her native Canada in the upcoming FIBA Americas Championships, temporarily leaving the Fever until a road game at Los Angeles on Aug. 18.
• Sydney Carter makes her return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse this Friday evening for a matchup with her former squad. Carter played for Indiana last season and is now averaging 3.4 points per game in 13.6 minutes of play for the Dream.

Probable Starters
Fever – F-Tamika Catchings, F-Marissa Coleman, C-Erlana Larkins, G-Shenise Johnson, G-Briann January

Dream – F- Angel McCoughtry, F- Damiris Dantas, C-Aneika Henry, G-Tiffany Hayes, G-Sydney Carter

Coors Light Cold Hard Fact

Last Meeting
(June 16, 2015) The Indiana Fever ran away with a 90-79 victory over the Atlanta Dream at Philips Arena on June 16. Marissa Coleman paced five Fever players in double figures with 18 points, and Maggie Lucas matched career highs with 17 points and four 3-point field goals. Indiana posted 23 assists on 30-of-60 shooting overall, with Briann January dishing six assists and Layshia Clarendon adding a career-high seven. Rookie center Natalie Achonwa shot 5-of-6 from the floor for 12 points. Returning from a one-game, league-imposed suspension, Tamika Catchings contributed 11 points and Lynetta Kizer had 10. Sancho Lyttle led Atlanta with a game-high 19 points and Angel McCoughtry netted 15.

Last Games
Fever: (August 4, 2015) Elena Delle Donne had 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and four blocks as the Chicago Sky defeated the Indiana Fever 106-82 on Tuesday night. Maggie Lucas scored 14 points for Indiana, which had won three straight and eight of 10. The Sky shot 72 percent in the first half and 63 for the game en route to sweeping the four-game season series for the first time in team history. Chicago raced to 17-point lead with a season-high 57 points in the first half.

Dream: (August 2, 2015) Candice Dupree scored a season-high 27 points and DeWanna Bonner had a steal and hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to help the Phoenix Mercury hold off the Atlanta Dream 71-68 on Sunday. Atlanta pulled to 67-66 when Damiris Dantas made a layup with 42 seconds left. Angel McCoughtry came up with a steal on the other end but Bonner stole it back near midcourt and Leilani Mitchell’s two free throws gave Phoenix a three-point lead with 13 seconds to play. Aneika Henry’s putback of McCoughtry’s missed 3-point attempt made it 69-68 with 0.5 seconds left and Bonner’s free throws capped the scoring. McCoughtry led Atlanta with 16 points.

Series
The Fever and Dream meet for the second time this season on August 7. Atlanta holds a 16-15 edge overall against Indiana. The Fever piled up a season-high 90 points in an 11-point victory in the first meeting this season at Atlanta on June 16. Including all five meetings with the Dream last season, the road team has won each of the last six games in the Indiana-Atlanta series.