Indiana Fever (0-0) at New York Liberty (0-0)
Date: Friday, May 24, 2019
Time:Â 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Site: Westchester County Center
TV: NBA TV
Live Stream: WNBA League Pass
The Indiana Fever travel to New York to open their 2019 season against the New York Liberty on Friday. Indiana finished the preseason with a perfect 3-0 record, highlighted by a 17-point comeback in its 71-66 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday. The Liberty posted a 1-3 mark in preseason play.
Kelsey Mitchell’s 26 points led the way in the victory against Dallas and were the most points scored by a Fever player in the team’s three preseason contests. She finished the game 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Kia Nurse and Asia Durr combined for 41 points in New York’s final preseason game, a 98-79 loss to Connecticut on Sunday.
Probable Starters
Fever: F – Betnijah Laney, F – Candice Dupree, C – Natalie Achonwa, G – Kelsey Mitchell, G – Erica Wheeler
Liberty:F – Tina Charles, F – Asia Durr, C – Amanda Zahui B, G – Brittany Boyd, G – Kia Nurse
NOTES
- Indiana finished the preseason unbeaten for the first time since 2016, when it went 2-0. The Fever defeated the Chicago Sky twice before knocking off the Dallas Wings.
- The Fever and Liberty met three times last season with New York taking two of the three matchups. Indiana holds a 42-29 edge in the all-time series between the two teams. They will face each other four times during the 2019 regular season.
- Despite losing two of the three meetings last season, Indiana outscored the Liberty by four points over the three games. New York’s two victories against the Fever came by a total of nine points.
- Erica Wheeler is two steals away from reaching 100 as a member of the Fever. The former Liberty player has 110 steals in her WNBA career.
- After arriving from Russia, where she won a EuroCup title, Wheeler recorded seven points and 11 assists in two preseason appearances. Her 11 assists were the most of any Fever player.
- Indiana’s 68-55 win over the Liberty at Westchester County Center on Aug. 4, 2018, marked the fourth different New York-area venue the Fever recorded a victory in. They are 12-13 at Madison Square Garden, 0-1 at Radio City Music Hall (2004), 1-0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium (2008), 4-3 at Prudential Center and 1-1 at Westchester County Center.
- In the win, the Fever held the Liberty to only two points in the fourth quarter and outscored them 17-2. New York went 0-of-15 from the field, becoming the eighth team in WNBA history to fail to make a field goal in a quarter.
- Prior to the Fever’s victory on Aug. 4, the Liberty had won five straight meetings between the teams, including a season sweep in 2017.
- Across the team’s three preseason games, ten different Fever players scored at least six points at least once. Six players did so on multiple occasions: Betnijah Laney, Kelsey Mitchell, Shenise Johnson, Natalie Achonwa, Paris Kea and Erica McCall.
- Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever in scoring in two of their three preseason games. She had 17 total points in two games against the Sky before her 26-point performance in the win over Dallas.
- Rookies Teaira McCowan and Paris Kea averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds between them during the preseason. McCowan was taken with the third overall pick and Kea was selected in the third round.
- Arriving from Hungary on May 10, Candice Dupree played limited minutes during the preseason. Entering her 14th season in the WNBA, Dupree is the only player on the Fever’s roster to be named to an All-Star team.