INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever players are never satisfied.
For that matter, neither is their coach.
They proved that once again on Wednesday afternoon when they extended a franchise-record winning streak to 10 games by knocking off a pesky Chicago Sky team 84-74 in front of an announced matinee crowd of 10,052 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The streak is good for seventh best in WNBA history and it comes in the Fever’s 10th year as a franchise.
“Ten and 10 today, huh? I didn’t realize that,” said Fever coach Lin Dunn. “Our players are playing hard and we’re playing defense. The winning streak is great for our fans. Fans love records, they love to talk about things like this, but what we’ve got to talk about it is the next quarter of the next game.”
Tammy Sutton-Brown continued her hot play by scoring a game-high 22 points on nearly flawless 10-of-11 shooting. She has scored 69 points over the last four games while making 62 percent of her field goal attempts (28-of-45) during that stretch.
“Let’s give Tammy credit. She has worked awful hard, she’s running the floor as well as she’s run it in years, and she’s demanding the basketball,” Dunn said. “I think what she’s doing now by hitting the 10- and 12-footers and blending it with the post game is huge for her.”
While Sutton-Brown was huge on the offensive end for the Fever (10-2), she certainly wasn’t alone.
Ebony Hoffman (18 points), Tamika Catchings (16 points) and Katie Douglas (13 points) also scored in double figures for Indiana, which has been extremely balanced all season.
Catchings and Douglas, who were both voted All-Star starters in the Eastern Conference, set up their teammates more than themselves, combining for 16 of the 26 Fever assists. Included in those assists were three consecutive from Catchings to Hoffman late in the first half.
“We are playing really well together,” Sutton-Brown said. “It is not just one or two people doing this; we have several in double figures every game. That indicates how good we are at each position.”
Indiana was also solid on the defensive end.
The Fever, which came into the game leading the league in points allowed, scored 25 points off 21 Chicago turnovers. The Sky had more first-half miscues (15) than they did field goals (12) or rebounds (14).
Indiana held only a 33-31 lead with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter before turning up the defensive intensity. The Fever outscored Chicago 10-2 heading into halftime, which proved to be a critical stretch in the outcome of the game. The two teams were even (41-41) in the second half.
“I thought our defense in crunch time was good,” Dunn said. “We got stops when we needed to.”
Catchings agreed.
“I think the one great thing that we’ve been doing is playing defense,” said Catchings, who was credited with six steals. “Our defense has done a tremendous job and that’s one thing that we keep focusing on. We might not shoot the ball very well, but one thing we can do is play defense and force the other team into turnovers.”
Candice Dupree, who will join Catchings and Douglas as an All-Star starter, led the Sky with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Kristi Toliver (Maryland) added 13 points off the bench and Ben Davis High School graduate Shyra Ely had nine points in only 11 minutes of action.
Fowles still hurting
Chicago forward Sylvia Fowles, who will start for the East in the All-Star game next week, was out of the lineup due to a right shoulder injury. She missed the game against the Fever last Friday night because of a sore right knee.
Hoffman reaches milestone
Fever forward Ebony Hoffman became only the fourth player in franchise history to score at least 1,000 points with her first field goal of the game. Tamika Catchings, Natalie Williams and Tan White were the others.
Record crowd
The announced attendance of 10,052 was the most for a Fever home game since the 2008 opener.
Pro Sports
Related Photos
-
Darron Cummings
-
Darron Cummings
-
Darron Cummings
Discussion
Fever rise above Sky
Indiana topples Chicago for 10th straight victory
- Pro Sports
-
-
Kahne keeps Hendrick success rolling at Charlotte
Kasey Kahne powered to victory in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, taking NASCAR's longest race for the third time for his first win with Hendrick Motorsports.
-
Spurs strike first in West finals, win 19th in row
Manu Ginobili scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs won their 19th in a row to tie the NBA record for longest winning streak kept alive in the playoffs, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98 to open the Western Conference finals on Sunday night.
-
Konerko hits go-ahead HR, White Sox sweep Indians
Paul Konerko got a big milestone home run and the White Sox got a sweep of the only team between them and the AL Central lead.
-
Reds outslug Rockies on record day for HRs
Here's how easy it looked to hit home runs at Great American Ball Park on Sunday: Todd Frazier lost his grip on the bat during a swing. The ball wound up in the seats anyway.
-
Cubs lose 12th straight, 10-4 to Pirates
The Chicago Cubs didn't come to close to ending their longest losing streak in more than 15 years. Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones homered, Erik Bedard pitched six shutout innings and the Pirates beat Chicago 10-4, sending the Cubs to their 12th consecutive loss.
-
Franchitti wins his third Indianapolis 500
For the second consecutive year the Indianapolis 500 was decided by a last-lap crash Sunday, but this time Takuma Sato crashed while battling for the win and allowing Dario Franchitti to score his third win.
-
Mathis, Freeney making strides in shift to OLB
Late in Wednesday’s practice at the Indianapolis Colts training facility, outside linebacker Robert Mathis backpedaled into the end zone, shadowing tight end Coby Fleener on a wheel route.
When the ball was thrown, Mathis broke first and knocked the pass harmlessly to the ground. His defensive teammates were quick to surround him in celebration. -
Rondo leads Celtics to Game 7 victory
Rajon Rondo had 18 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 85-75 in Game 7 on Saturday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
-
Cubs' losing streak hits 10 in 1-0 loss to Pirates
A.J. Burnett and four relievers helped the Pittsburgh Pirates send the listless Chicago Cubs to their 10th straight loss by surviving on a night the Pirates allowed 10 hits and ran into trouble in just about every inning.
-
Dos Santos, Mir to battle for UFC title
The address from UFC president Dana White to fans in the official program for UFC 146 states “there’s nothing in sports like a heavyweight fight.” And there’s nothing that resonates with fight fans more than a contest for the heavyweight championship of the world. Such a fight headlines the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s card tonight from Las Vegas as champion Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos defends his title for the first time against two-time former title holder Frank Mir at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
- More Pro Sports Headlines
-
Police: 5-time Champ Johnny Tapia Found Dead
Native Americans' Olympic Medals Displayed in DC
Manning on Target at First Practice
Raw Video: Olympic Torch Relay Begins in England
Raw Video: Olympic Torch Passed to London
Selig: Oakland Move Might Be Considered
McNamee: Clemens, Canseco Had Steroids Talk
Laurie Fine: My Life Has Been Destroyed
MLB: Mets Get 2013 All Star Game
Bernie Fine's Wife to Sue ESPN
Kyrie Irving Named NBA's Top Rookie
McNamee Says He Gave Clemens Steroids in 1998
Phelps Looks to Add to Medal Haul in London
Raw Video: McNamee Arrives at Clemens Trial
Bulls Bounced From Playoffs
Former NFL Star Junior Seau Found Dead
NFL Suspends 4 Players for Saints' Bounties
Reigning U.S. Champ Eying Olympic Gold in London
Knicks Fans Disappointed in Stoudemire
