Jessica Davenport powers Indiana Fever to a 77-63 win over Chicago Sky – WNBA Recap
After losing two road games in a row, Indiana Fever turned up the defensive pressure at home to beat the Chicago Sky 77-63 on Thursday night. It was Indiana's seventh consecutive victory against the Sky.
The win, powered by Jessica Davenport‘s team-high 20 points and five rebounds, moved Fever into first place in the Eastern Conference. They are now one-half game ahead of Connecticut Sun.
"It's always nice to be at home and to have that home crowd behind us," Davenport said after the game. "I thought our road trip was pretty tough, but we had a great practice yesterday and everyone had energy. I think just being
at home helped a lot."
Davenport was not the only star in this game, though. Tamika Catchings also scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists in while Tangela Smith scored 10 points for Fever, who have won four of their previous
seven games.
Sylvia Fowles led Sky with a game-high 21 points on a 9 for 11 shooting from the field. Erin Thorn had 15 points, five assists and three rebounds while Epiphanny Prince ended the game with 12 points, three assists, two steals and
two blocks for Chicago.
Indiana shot 44.4 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from free throw line while Chicago shot just 40.7 percent from the floor and 75.0 percent from the line.
Fever were more aggressive all night, outscoring Chicago 8-0 in fast break points and 34-24 on the points in the paint.
Phillips struck first to open the first quarter as the Fever went on a 10-7 run to gain the momentum. Young’s jumper cut the deficit to one, but Catchings responded with a lay-up and Ely followed with a pair of free throws to stretch
the lead to five points, 14-9. Young once again sank a jumper with 01:31 remaining in the opening period to trim Indiana’s lead to three, but Fever responded with four consecutive points, taking an 18-11 lead into the second.
Indiana pushed their lead to 10 points early in the second quarter and maintained a 41-27 lead at halftime. Fever stepped up the ante after the break and played the third quarter with even more confidence, outscoring Sky 20-16,
and stretched their lead to 18 points at 61-43.
Chicago’s bench tried to spark a comeback but Fever’s insurmountable lead was too much to overcome. Sky coach Pokey Chatman admitted they really have to work hard and said, "We are at the turning point where we need to grow up,
step up and recognize opportunities. It is mental to physical. We played like a young team."
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