Indiana Fever win fourth straight, beat Los Angeles Sparks 98-63 – WNBA Recap
Indiana Fever’s reserves combined for a franchise-record 57 points and propelled their team to a fourth consecutive win, beating the Los Angeles Sparks 98-63 at Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday night.
It was the Fever’s seventh win in their last 10 games and pulled them within half game of Minnesota Lynx for the top seed in the league. The Sparks, on the other hand, lost the fifth game in their previous six games.
Jessica Davenport led the way for Indiana with a game-high 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists in the victory. The player shot 6 for 11 from the field and 4 for 5 from free throw line.
"Everybody had energy," said Davenport after the game. "We're playing well as a unit right now. We have a balanced effort."
Tangela Smith scored 15 points, shooting 7 for 12 from the floor, and grabbed six rebounds in the victory. Fever’s guards Shavonte Zellous and Jeanette Pohlen came off the bench with 13 and 10 points respectively. Tamika Catchings
pulled down a game best 11 rebounds and dished out six assists for Indiana. Shyra Ely scored seven of her nine points in the second quarter in the Fever’s 21-9 run.
Former Fever player Ebony Hoffman led the Sparks with 13 points and six rebounds while rookie reserve Jantel Lavender ended with 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Noelle Quinn added 11 points, three rebounds and two steals
in the loss.
Fever shot 52.2 percent (36 for 69) from the field, including 43.5 percent (10 for 23) from three-point range, and 72.7 percent (16 for 22) from free throw line. Los Angeles shot just 35.9 percent (23 for 64) from the floor, including
25 percent (4 for 16) beyond the arc, and 81.2 (13 for 16) from the line. Fever pulled down 41 boards as compared to just 32 rebounds by Los Angeles. In addition to that, the Sparks committed 16 turnovers while Indiana committed just 10.
Los Angeles started well and held a 10-8 lead with 05:22 to go in the first quarter. Indiana however responded with a 19-5 run in the last five minutes of the opening period to take a 27-15 lead into the second. Indiana continued
to play aggressively in the second quarter and limited Los Angeles to just 15 points, pushing their lead to 23 points, 53-30, at halftime.
Indiana outscored the Sparks 24-16 in the third quarter and maintained their double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter to walk away with their 14th victory of this season.
A disappointed Sparks coach Joe Bryant said after the game, "Defensively, they took us out of everything," "We couldn't make shots.”
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