Tamika Catchings notches 5,000th point; Indiana Fever down New York Liberty 82-71 – WNBA Recap
On Saturday night, Tamika Catchings tied a career high with 32 points to push her career total to 5,000 as Indiana Fever defeated New York Liberty 82-71 at Conseco Fieldhouse. It was second consecutive victory for Fever, who are
heading the Eastern Conference with a 17-7 record.
Catchings, a four-time ‘defensive player of the year’ was the real difference maker on the night. She reached a scoring milestone when she made a jumper from near the free-throw line late in the first quarter. With this accomplishment,
the Indiana forward became just the sixth WNBA player to score 5,000 points. Catchings also set a franchise record by making 17 free throws. The player dished out three assists and also stole the ball three times.
Indiana coach Lin Dunn praised the outstanding performance of her [layer and said, “Catch is a multidimensional player,” “I think sometimes she's not given enough credit for all the different things she can do. She gets assists,
she gets steals, she gets rebounds, she scores and she defends like nobody else in the league.”
However, being the perfectionist that she is, Catchings wasn’t too impressed with her performance on the night. The reason for that was she did not grab even a single rebound on the night.
``Even though I scored as many points as I did, to come out with zero rebounds - I don't even know when was the last time I had zero rebounds. So you scored, but you didn't take care of business on the boards.''
Tangela Smith also racked up 10 points, hitting 3 of 5 three-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds in the victory.
Cappie Pondexter led New York with 30 points on a 12 for 21 shooting from the field and 4 for 6 from free throw line. Pondexter also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists in the second consecutive defeat of New York.
However, the 28-year-old guard committed eight rebounds in more than 35 minutes. Essence Carson came off the bench with 16 points, three assists and three rebounds in the loss.
Liberty’s shooting from the field was better than that of Indiana. However, Fever outscored the visiting team 25-12 from the free throw line to tilt the game in their favour.
Catchings scored 13 of her points in the first half as Indiana held a 38-32 lead at halftime. Fever limited New York to just 15 points in the third quarter and stretched their lead to 17 points, 64-47. Indiana maintained their
double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter to walk away with yet another impressive victory.
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