Fever face Mystics looking to end losing skid
Mired in a nine-game losing streak, the Indiana Fever will look to end the skid on Saturday when they visit the one team they defeated this season: the Washington Mystics.
In a May 23 game at home, Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell had a team-high 18 points as part of a balanced attack in an 89-77 victory over Washington. Teaira McCowan and Jessica Breland each added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Fever (1-13) have struggled since that contest, however McCowan (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Breland (10 points, 11 rebounds) each notched a double-double in a 79-69 setback to the defending champion Seattle Storm on Thursday.
Indiana coach Marianne Stanley has been encouraged by her players' attention to defense over the past few games.
"We've worked hard at it. We've actually had time to have full practices, give it the attention it needs," Stanley said. "Players have been working hard and getting a little better each day."
Washington (5-6) answered its late-May loss to Indiana with an 85-69 victory over the Fever two nights later. Tina Charles, who averages a WNBA-leading 24.0 points per game, scored 31 points in the initial contest before adding 30 in the rematch.
Charles, however, did not compete in the Mystics' most recent contest on Thursday. Instead, the 2012 WNBA MVP attended the Tribeca Film Festival for the premiere of the documentary she directed and produced titled "Game Changer."
Although shorthanded, Washington secured its third win in its past four games with a 96-93 victory over the Atlanta Dream.
Ariel Atkins (32 points) and Theresa Plaisance (25 points) each recorded career-high point performances for the Mystics, who saw Myisha Hines-Allen exit in the second quarter with a non-contact knee injury. Erica McCall injured her knee in the morning's shootaround.
"It was a grit one," Washington coach Mike Thibault said after notching his 350th career victory. "We had everything going against us, and we just said, `Play free, play together, share the ball, have fun, play as hard as you can, and whatever happens happens.'
"Sometimes when you just free your mind up and you just go play, amazing things can happen, and that kind of grit that we had (on Thursday) is who we've been about for a long time."
--Field Level Media
