Indiana Fever vs. Los Angeles Sparks - WNBA Preview
On Thursday night, Tamika Catchings and the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Fever will be looking for a fourth consecutive victory overall and second straight over Los Angeles Sparks, when the two sides meet at the Staples Center.
In the last meeting on July 31, Indiana squeaked past Sparks 98-63 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Jessica Davenport stood out for Fever that night, as she recorded a game high 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds, stole the ball for three
times and blocked two shots to help Indiana seal the victory. Tangela Smith was as another prominent player in the victory with 15 points on a 7 for 12 shooting from the field. Ebony Hoffman led the Sparks with 13 points and six rebounds.
Fever are presently heading the Eastern Conference with an 18-7 record this season and are just half game behind the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. Indiana have stepped up defensively during their current winning streak, holding
opponents to 67.3 points per game on an average 42.3 percent shooting.
Their most recent success was a 65-63 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Tuesday night at AT&T Center. Tamika Catchings topped all the players with 26 points, including 14 of them in the first half, grabbed five rebounds,
stole the ball for three times and blocked three shots. Catchings went 9 for 15 from the floor and 7 for 8 from free throw line.
The 6-foot-2 small forward has never been MVP, nor has won a WNBA championship, but her performance so far in this season has been outstanding and she is one among the leading contenders to win the MVP Award this season. The player
is averaging 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
Indiana coach Lin Dunn recently praised Catchings, “I think what she's done is she's attacking the basket more, she's pacing herself a little more,” “I think she has a tremendous will to win” "There is no doubt in my mind she's
got all the credentials to be a WNBA MVP," "And she certainly deserves a ring."
The Sparks are 9-14 so far in this season and are standing at fifth in the Western Conference. They have lost three of their previous five games. In their last contest on Tuesday, the Atlanta Dream beat them by five-point margin,
84-79, at Staples Center. They shot 49.2 percent from the field and their biggest lead of the game was of seven-point.
DeLisha Milton punctuated a team best 19 points, shooting 8 for 15 from the field, in the loss. Candace Parker made a terrific comeback after missing 15 games with a right knee injury. Parker recorded a double-double with 15 points
and 10 rebounds.
Catchings is the biggest threat for Los Angeles as she is flying high with an average of 26.3 points and 2.3 blocks per game in her previous three games.
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