Sun 89, Fever 81
INDIANAPOLIS -- In a battle of Eastern Conference powers, Connecticut's balance bested Indiana's 1-2 punch of Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas.
Seven Sun players reached double figures Friday night as the Sun improved to 5-1 with an 89-81 decision over the Fever in front of 6,041 fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Kara Lawson led the way with 18 points, drilling three 3-pointers and adding four rebounds. Tina Charles, Asjha Jones and Mistie Mims contributed 12 points each, with Mims sinking all six shots she attempted. Renee Montgomery hit for 11, including seven in the last three minutes.
Danielle McCray and Tan White scored 10 each. Charles hauled in 14 rebounds, while Jones collected 12. White's offensive contributions were unexpected as she hadn't scored a point in two previous appearances this year.
Catchings was marvelous in defeat, firing in a game-high 31 points on just 15 field goal attempts as she canned 6-of-9 3-pointers. Douglas added 23 points, but no one else on the Indiana roster managed to reach double digits.
Catchings hit back-to-back threes to give the Fever a 79-78 edge with 3:12 left, but Montgomery sank a jumper with 2:52 remaining to restore the lead for Connecticut. Lawson followed with a jumper at the 2:27 mark to make it 82-79 and Montgomery hit two free throws with 2:03 on the clock for a five-point lead.
Charles and Montgomery each drained two free throws in the last minute to help salt the game away.
Indiana (4-2) led 47-41 at halftime after outscoring the Sun 29-14 in the second quarter. But Connecticut rallied for a 67-60 lead after three periods, thanks to a 26-13 third quarter spurt.
The Sun returns home on Sunday for a 5 p.m. ET contest with Atlanta.
