Although the Indiana Fever are one of the better defensive teams in the WNBA, that hasn't been evident during the first two games of their homestand.
The Fever would appear to have a good chance to break that trend Tuesday when they host the depleted New York Liberty.
Despite inconsistency last month, Indiana is in second place in the Eastern Conference - 2 1/2 games behind Connecticut. After losing three straight and four of five in early June, it has responded by winning four of six.
However, it has been an uneven start to a six-game homestand for the Fever (9-6), who fell 88-72 to San Antonio last Thursday before escaping with an 88-86 overtime win over Chicago on Saturday.
Indiana, which is 5-2 at Conseco Fieldhouse, led by double digits late in the third quarter before being outscored 25-12 in the final period of regulation.
The Fever allowed Chicago to shoot 47.1 percent and go 8 of 18 from beyond the arc after the Silver Stars shot 52.2 percent overall and 7 of 12 from 3-point range the previous game.
"I think we're too good of a team," said Tamika Catchings, who had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. "It's kind of like lack of focus on our part. That just can't happen."
The lack of effort is particularly surprising since the Fever give up the fourth-fewest points in the WNBA at 75.6 per game.
Indiana has won four straight against New York, including a 91-68 victory June 2. The Liberty defeated the Fever 87-72 the following day on their own court.
New York will have a different look in this meeting due to several injuries. The Liberty (6-10) failed to match a season high with their third straight win, falling 94-81 to visiting San Antonio on Sunday.
Essence Carson scored 25 points and Cappie Pondexter added 23, but New York committed 21 turnovers and allowed the Silver Stars to shoot 55.1 percent.
"We didn't have a good outing defensively," coach John Whisenant said. ''We've had a couple of good defensive outings against Seattle and more recently Chicago and we never got control of this one."
The poor defensive effort isn't too surprising given the amount of injuries the Liberty are dealing with.
Plenette Pierson, New York's second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, missed her sixth straight game (strained left knee), while top rebounder Kia Vaughn missed her second in a row (concussion).
The Liberty also are unsure about the status of forward DeMya Walker, who left Sunday's game with knee problems.
