Phoenix Mercury (1-2) at Indiana Fever (3-1)
Date: Sunday, June 9th
Time: 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
TV: Fox Sports Indiana (FSI) and NBA TV
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go and WNBA League Pass
The Indiana Fever welcome the Phoenix Mercury for the third game of their four-game homestand. Indiana defeated the Dallas Wings 79-64 on Friday night to bring their record to 3-1 on the season. The Mercury are 1-2 following a 58-56 loss in Minnesota on Thursday where they outscored the Lynx by 11 in the fourth quarter.
Natalie Achonwa and Candice Dupree both recorded double-doubles for Indiana in its win over the Wings. Achonwa, Dupree, Kelsey Mitchell and Tiffany Mitchell all scored at least 14 points for the Fever. DeWanna Bonner contributed 25 of Phoenix’s 56 points in its defeat to Minnesota. No other Mercury player reached double-figures.
Probable Starters
Fever: F – Betnijah Laney, F – Candice Dupree, C – Natalie Achonwa, G – Kelsey Mitchell, G – Erica Wheeler
Mercury: F –Essence Carson, F – DeWanna Bonner, C – Brittney Griner, G – Yvonne Turner, G – Briann January
NOTES
- The Fever have at least three wins in their first four games for the first time since 2012, when they went on to win the WNBA championship.
- Indiana leads the all-time series against the Mercury, 21-17. Phoenix took all three meetings between the teams last season.
- Mercury guard Briann January returns to Indianapolis, where she spent nine seasons as a member of the Fever. January will be honored as a member of the Fever’s 20th anniversary team.
- Candice Dupree scored the 1,000th point of her Fever career in the win over Dallas, becoming the 13th player in franchise history to do so. Dupree is the second player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points with three different teams.
- Natalie Achonwa posted her seventh career double-double while setting season-highs in points (17) and rebounds (11) against the Wings. Achonwa also set a new career-high with five assists.
- Achonwa was the fourth different player to lead Indiana in scoring in its first four games. Tiffany Mitchell, Erica Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell are the others.
- The Fever have shot a higher percentage from the field than all four of their opponents this season. In 2018, they did so a total of five times.
- Erica Wheeler (second), Candice Dupree (fourth) and Natalie Achonwa (fifth) rank in the top five among qualified WNBA players in field goal percentage.
- Indiana made 20 of its 21 free throw attempts on Friday, marking the second time the Fever have hit at least 20 free throws in a game this season. In 34 games last season, they only reached that total once.
- Erica Wheeler finished with nine assists against Dallas, tying her season high. Wheeler has posted at least five assists in every game this season and currently ranks second in the WNBA in assists per game (7.3).
- The Fever outrebounded Dallas by seven, the first time this season they won the battle on the boards. Natalie Achonwa and Candice Dupree both pulled down 11 rebounds in the win.
- With a win over the Mercury, Indiana will get its fourth victory of the season in five games. In 2018, it took the team 27 games to reach that mark.