Indiana Fever stay alive; Stun Connecticut Sun down the stretch to take the series to game 3 – WNBA Eastern Conference Finals
With the defending champions Minnesota Lynx already in the WNBA finals, all Connecticut Suns needed was a win over Indiana Fever to set up a mouth watering season finale.
Indiana Fever however proved to be the party spoilers.
With the game tied at 76 with 12.5 seconds to go, Allison Hightower had a chance to put Sun ahead with a free throw. She missed and Tamika Catching snatched the rebound. On the ensuing possession, Brian January missed a layup,
but Shavonte Zellous became the unlikely hero by knocking down a 13-footer and earning Fever a 1-1 tie in the three game series.
The game was a roller coaster ride. Connecticut were on fire early, starting with a 11-0 run capped by a three pointer from Kara Lawson. Fever responded immediately and eight consecutive points from Catchings closed an 18-8 spurt
which brought them at 18-19. A Lawson three however shifted the momentum again and Sun went into the second quarter holding a 24-20 lead.
Connecticut again made a strong start and pushed their advantage to 32-24 to start the second quarter. They were however in for a shock as Fever rebounded again, this time with an 18-7 burst to take a 42-39 lead with 1:35 to go
till the break. Katie Douglas then scored four in the last 41 seconds to ensure that Indiana go to the interval with a 46-43 lead.
In a low scoring third quarter, Connecticut made most of the early minutes – again.
Paced by Hightower, they converted a three point halftime deficit into a 52-48 advantage, nearly midway through the period. Indiana followed with a 7-0 run, but Sun managed to stay ahead, 57-56, entering the last 10 minutes.
In the fourth period, Indiana had a fast start for a change. They had carved a 6 point lead, before Sun came roaring back with a 15-4 run to take a 72-67 advantage. Fever desperately needed some inspiration at that time and it
came from the ever dependable Douglas. She went on a personal 7-0 run to hand back the lead to Fever, who held their nerve to squeak through.
Douglas finished the night with 24 points while Catchings added 21. For Sun, Kara Lawson led with 18 points, Asjha Jones had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Tina Charles scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
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