Indiana Fever 45 - Phoenix Mercury 39: WNBA Game Halftime Analysis
Jessica Davenport added 13 points as the Indiana Fever led Phoenix Mercury 45-39 at halftime on Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. Katie Douglas scored eight points while Briann January posted five points for the Fever.
For Phoenix, DeWanna Bonner came off the bench with nine points while Penny Taylor punctuated eight points till intermission.
First Quarter
Diana Taurasi hit a three-pointer early in the first quarter to give Mercury the lead. Taylor’s jump shot and a reserve lay-up after that further stretched the lead to 7-2. Fever however turned it on after that and sprinted to
an 8-1 run within two minutes to go ahead by three points, 11-8.
Bonner responded for Mercury with a pair of free throw to cut the deficit to just one, 11-10. However, January and Davenport then hit two jumpers to get Indiana back to three-point lead, 15-12, with 03:35 remaining in the opening
quarter. Bonner then drove to the rim and Alexis Gray-Lawson hit a free throw to knot the game at 15-15 with almost two minutes to go. Fever broke through again though, and this time with a 9-3 run in the last one and half minute to take a 24-18 advantage
into the second.
Second Quarter
Phoenix scored the first five points of the second quarter to decrease the margin to one point, 24-23. They maintained their hold on Indiana and Taylor pinned a pair of free throw at the 04:17 mark to take a 31-28 lead.
January answered with a three point play to tie the game at 31-31 with four minutes to go in the second period. Dupree’s lay-up on the next possession put Phoenix ahead by two points, 33-31, however Fever scored nine straight points
to take a seven-point lead, 40-33, with 01:56 to go in the first half.
Taurasi’s pair of free throw trimmed the margin to five but Davenport free throw and January’s lay-up in the next minute further pushed Indiana’s lead to eight points, 43-35. Ketia Swanier and Bonner nailed jumpers in the last
42 seconds but Indiana still maintained a 45-39 lead at halftime.
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