eight wnba playoff appearances in 12 seasons - WNBA.com

I N D I A N A F E V E R
2009 Eastern Conference Finals
Game 1 – Detroit 72, Indiana 56
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - For 17 minutes, the Indiana Fever looked like the best
team in the Eastern Conference.
After that, they regressed back to the group that has been eliminated by the Detroit
Shock in each of the last three postseasons.
After leading for the entire first half, the Fever only scored 19 second-half points as
Detroit rolled to an easy 72-56 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
"I thought Detroit played like a team that wanted to win the game more than we did,''
Indiana coach Lin Dunn said. "We didn't match their energy or their intensity in the
second half, and that's very disappointing.''
Detroit, which has won 12 of its last 14 games after a 9-14 start, is looking for a fourth
straight trip to the WNBA finals despite losing Plenette Pierson (shoulder) and Katie
Smith (back).
The Fever led 35-24 with three minutes left in the second quarter, but Detroit went on a
11-2 run to make it a two-point game at halftime.
"I thought we really missed a big opportunity there,'' said Katie Douglas, who led
Indiana with 16 points. "We started off really well, and we had them on their heels, but
we let them get some confidence.''
Rookie Shavonte Zellous scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half,
including 12 in the second quarter.
The Shock kept the momentum after the break, scoring the first six points of the third
quarter. They held Indiana to six third-quarter points to take a 52-43 lead into the fourth.
The Fever missed 13 of 16 shots in the period and turned the ball over six times.
The Fever cut the margin to four, but Deanna Nolan scored the next six points and
Zellous added a three-point play to put Detroit ahead 63-50 with 5:09 to play. Nolan, who
received a trophy before the game for her All-WNBA second-team berth, finished with 22
points.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL SCORER’S REPORT
09/23/2009 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hill
Playoffs Game #3 FINAL BOX
Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #39 Michael Price, #7 Clarke Stevens
VISITOR: Indiana Fever (0-1)
Time of Game: 2:04
Attendance: 7,214
NO PLAYER MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA OR DR TOT A PF ST TO BS PTS
24 Tamika Catchings F 32:52 4 11 1 5 0 0 6 5 11 3 3 3 4 1 9
32 Ebony Hoffman F 27:35 3 8 0 2 0 0 0 3 3 1 4 0 0 0 6
8 Tammy Sutton-Brown C 33:35 5 8 0 0 4 5 1 3 4 0 4 1 1 2 14
23 Katie Douglas G 34:53 6 19 4 7 0 0 1 1 2 5 1 0 2 2 16
41 Tully Bevilaqua G 26:51 1 6 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 5 2 1 2 0 3
31 Jessica Moore 11:45 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 3 0 2 0 1
20 Briann January 19:57 3 7 0 0 1 2 1 4 5 1 2 1 3 0 7
21 Tamecka Dixon 6:06 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0
50 Jessica Davenport 1:41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
14 Shay Murphy 2:35 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
34 Christina Wirth 2:10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
TOTALS 22 62 6 18 6 9 10 19 29 17 20 6 18 5 56
PERCENTAGES 35.5% 33.3% 66.7% TM REB: 11 TOT TO: 19 (14 PTS)
HOME: DETROIT SHOCK (1-0)
NO PLAYER MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA OR DR TOT A PF ST TO BS PTS
6 Nikki Teasley F 14:37 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3
44 Taj McWilliams F 30:05 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 1 3 0 1 1 4
35 Cheryl Ford C 22:39 1 5 0 0 0 0 3 6 9 1 5 1 4 1 2
14 Deanna Nolan G 35:42 9 18 1 5 3 3 2 0 2 1 3 3 2 1 22
22 Alexis Hornbuckle G 36:28 2 9 0 1 4 4 1 5 6 4 1 2 3 2 8
45 Kara Braxton 19:41 4 10 0 0 2 4 5 4 9 0 2 0 0 1 10
1 Shavonte Zellous 31:44 6 16 1 1 10 11 1 3 4 5 2 1 1 1 23
42 Crystal Kelly 7:23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
24 Olayinka Sanni 1:41 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
23 Plenette Pierson DND – Right Shoulder Surgery
30 Katie Smith DND – Low Back Pain
TOTALS 25 65 3 9 19 22 13 23 36 13 18 7 12 8 72
PERCENTAGES 38.5% 33.3% 86.4% TM REB: 10 TOT TO: 13 (9 PTS)
SCORE BY PERIODS 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Fever 18 19 6 13 56
SHOCK 13 22 17 20 72
Points in the Paint: Fever 24, SHOCK 24 Biggest Lead: Fever 11, SHOCK 16
Second Chance Points: Fever 10, SHOCK 18 Lead Changes: 1
Fast Break Points: Fever 6, SHOCK 11 Times Tied: 1
PLAYOFFS RECORD BOOK
GAME RECAPS
2009 Eastern Conference Finals
Game 2 – Indiana 79, Detroit 75
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tamika Catchings went down after being fouled hard in the third
quarter, and her teammates and more than 9,000 Indiana Fever fans waited in stunned
silence to see if she'd recover.
Two years ago, the Fever were in the decisive Game 3 of the Eastern Conference
Finals - also against the Detroit Shock - when Catchings went down with a torn right
Achilles' tendon. A competitive game turned into a blowout, and Detroit cruised into the
WNBA finals.
In Game 2 of the East Finals, Catchings was sprawled on the ground for several
minutes with trainers around her. This time, she got up and made Detroit pay.
Catchings scored 22 points, and the Fever avoided elimination with a 79-75 win,
forcing a decisive Game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Catchings said her neck already was hurting before she was hit with 3:06 left in the
third quarter. The foul on the play was charged to Alexis Hornbuckle.
Catchings felt the contact was excessive.
Catchings not only got up, she never left the game. She dusted herself off and made
one of two free throws to cut Detroit's lead to 50-49. On Detroit's next possession,
Catchings stole a pass, then found an open Briann January for a 3-pointer that gave the
Fever a 52-50 lead.
Indiana never trailed again. Indiana outscored Detroit 31-25 after Catchings went
down.
Catchings, who earlier in the day was named the league's defensive player of the year,
also had nine rebounds, six steals and five assists.
Now, the Fever will have a chance to play for a spot in the WNBA finals, and an
Indiana legend is trying to help them pack the home arena.
Katie Douglas added 14 points and five steals for the Fever, who will host the decisive
Game 3. Deanna Nolan led Detroit with 23 points and Shavonte Zellous added 19 points
and nine rebounds.
Indiana set a postseason record with 18 steals and scored 28 points off Detroit's 24
turnovers.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL SCORER’S REPORT
09/25/2009 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Playoffs Game #4 FINAL BOX
Officials: #13 Cameron Inouye, #17 Scott Twardoski, #18 Kurt Walker
HOME: DETROIT SHOCK (1-1)
Time of Game: 2:04
Attendance: 9,210
NO PLAYER MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA OR DR TOT A PF ST TO BS PTS
6 Nikki Teasley F 20:57 3 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 3 1 7
44 Taj McWilliams F 23:27 4 4 0 0 1 2 3 3 6 1 3 1 5 1 9
35 Cheryl Ford C 37:17 3 6 0 0 2 2 5 8 13 0 4 1 4 0 8
14 Deanna Nolan G 39:54 7 19 3 8 6 6 1 0 1 3 4 2 4 1 23
22 Alexis Hornbuckle G 30:29 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 6 3 4 3 6 1 0
45 Kara Braxton 16:33 4 5 0 0 1 2 2 3 5 1 3 0 1 1 9
1 Shavonte Zellous 28:40 6 20 2 7 5 7 5 4 9 3 2 1 1 1 19
24 Olayinka Sanni 2:43 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0
42 Crystal Kelly DNP – Coach’s Decision
23 Plenette Pierson DND – Right Shoulder Surgery
30 Katie Smith DND – Low Back Pain
TOTALS 27 65 6 17 15 19 17 24 41 12 25 8 24 7 75
PERCENTAGES 41.5% 35.3% 78.9% TM REB: 7 TOT TO: 24 (28 PTS)
VISITOR: Indiana Fever (1-1)
NO PLAYER MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA OR DR TOT A PF ST TO BS PTS
24 Tamika Catchings F 36:03 6 13 1 6 9 11 1 8 9 5 4 6 4 0 22
32 Ebony Hoffman F 32:30 5 5 1 1 2 3 1 4 5 2 3 3 2 1 13
8 Tammy Sutton-Brown C 29:50 4 9 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 4 2 3 2 8
23 Katie Douglas G 33:33 5 10 1 3 3 8 0 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 14
41 Tully Bevilaqua G 21:38 0 5 0 3 0 2 1 1 2 2 3 0 0 0 0
31 Jessica Moore 11:04 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 4
20 Briann January 21:58 4 9 2 4 2 2 1 2 3 3 2 0 1 0 12
21 Tamecka Dixon 6:49 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
50 Jessica Davenport 6:36 0 2 0 0 4 4 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 4
14 Shay Murphy DNP – Coach’s Decision
34 Christina Wirth DNP – Coach’s Decision
TOTALS 27 60 5 17 20 30 5 22 27 16 19 18 11 4 79
PERCENTAGES 45.0% 29.4% 66.7% TM REB: 10 TOT TO: 13 (9 PTS)
SCORE BY PERIODS 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Shock 15 23 20 17 75
FEVER 17 22 21 19 79
Points in the Paint: Shock 32, FEVER 36 Biggest Lead: Shock 6, FEVER 7
Second Chance Points: Shock 22, FEVER 8 Lead Changes: 9
Fast Break Points: Shock 16, FEVER 7 Times Tied: 9
2011 PLAYOFFS MEDIA GUIDE
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