Indiana (3-6) vs. Connecticut (7-1)

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.)
Radio: None
Television: None
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

• Indiana (3-6) hits the road Tuesday, as the Fever travel to Connecticut (7-1) for the first regular season matchup with the Eastern Conference’s first-place Sun at 7:00 p.m. Connecticut has won seven straight after dropping its first contest of the season.
• Following the game at Connecticut, Indiana begins a four game home stand spanning July 2-15.
• Tuesday is the 400th game of Tamika Catchings’ career. She is the 13th player in WNBA history to reach that plateau. Catchings is exactly 10 rebounds from becoming the fourth player in league history with 3,000 rebounds. She is 24 rebounds shy of passing Taj McWilliams-Franklin as the No. 3 rebounder in league history. This season she is averaging 11.5 points per game and a team-high 8.3 rebounds.
• In the loss to Chicago on 6/26, the Fever scored 52 points in the first half – their highest scoring total in any half this season – while shooting 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field.
• Natalie Achonwa leads all rookies with 10.2 points per game and ranks fourth among all rookies with 4.4 rebounds per game. She ranks 10th in the league with a .522 field goal percentage, which is a team-high for Indiana.
• Marissa Coleman has scored in double figures in seven of Indiana’s nine games while averaging 13.9 points per game. She ranks 16th in the WNBA in scoring average and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.429). Coleman has led the Fever in scoring in five of nine games, most recently with 16 against Chicago on 6/26. In the game, she also pulled down a season-high eight rebounds.
• Veteran point guard Briann January has dished the ball out well this season, as she ranks eighth in the league in assists per game (3.6). She also is tied for 10th with 1.56 steals per game through nine contests.
• Shenise Johnson is averaging a team-high three-point field goal percentage, shooting 45.0 percent from beyond the arc. She is currently ranked fourth in the league in that category. Against the Sky on 6/26, she tied season-highs with 15 points and seven rebounds.
• Shavonte Zellous (back) and Erlana Larkins (knee) remain out of action for Tuesday’s game at Connecticut.

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

Connecticut – F-Alyssa Thomas, F-Camille Little, C- Kelsey Bone, G-Alex Bentley, G-Jasmine Thomas

Last Meeting
Tamika Catchings led Indiana with 21 points and Briann January added 13 to lift the Fever past the Connecticut Sun 72-68 in July 2014. Tied at 61, Indiana’s Layshia Clarendon gathered the rebound after Chiney Ogwunmike’s block of Shavonte Zellous and made the put-back jumper for the lead with just over three minutes left. Clarendon finished with a career-high 12 points, helping spur Indiana’s 33-point fourth quarter, along with 11 from Catchings and eight from January. Indiana native Katie Douglas scored 17 points to lead the Sun. and Renee Montgomery each scored 11 points for the Connecticut. After trailing late in the third quarter, Indiana put together an 11-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarter to cut the lead to single digits. January’s 3-pointer to open the fourth capped the run to move the Fever passed the Sun.

Last Games
Fever: (June 26, 2015) Indiana dropped its third game of the season to Chicago last Friday, 83-77 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cappie Pondexter scored 23 points for the Sky for their third straight victory. The Fever held the WNBA scoring leader Elena Delle Donne to a season-low 14 points, two nights after scoring a career-high 45 points in a home victory over the Atlanta Dream. Allie Quigley added 17 points for Chicago. Marissa Coleman led Indiana with 16 points and Shenise Johnson added 15. The Fever shot 56.3 percent from the field in the first half with 11 assists on 18 buckets. However, in the second half, Indiana hit 28 percent from the field and recorded two assists on seven total buckets. Chicago outscored the Fever 40-25 after halftime and 19-9 in the fourth quarter.

Sun: (June 26, 2015) Alex Bentley scored 18 points and the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed Los Angeles Sparks 80-76 in overtime last weekend. Camille Little added 14 points for Connecticut. Jantel Lavender had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks. Andrea Hoover made her first WNBA start for LA and had a season-high 17 points. The Sparks went three-plus minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter, but Jennifer Lacy’s 3-pointer from the corner pulled LA within 66-65 with 57 seconds left. Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas went 1-for-2 from the line for a two-point lead and Jantel Lavender’s layup tied it at 67 with 9.9 seconds left in regulation. The Sun scored the first six points of overtime and LA didn’t hit its first field goal until the 5.3-second mark.

Series
Indiana has lost seven consecutive regular season games (6-17 overall on the road) at Connecticut. Its last regular season road win over the Sun came on July 28, 2011 when the Fever defeated Connecticut, 69-58. In the series overall, the Sun hold a slight 24-23 edge over the Indiana. From the 2012 to 2014 seasons, the home team won all but two games.