The Fever defeated the Liberty and will take on the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA finals. So many new faces, a different time. Coleman had 16 points, and Shenise Johnson and Shavonte Zellous had 10 each.
Advertisement
It takes continued excellence to be legendary, and in the WNBA, Tamika Catchings defines legend.
Catchings and the rugged Fever will test them a few more. “She’s reading her options and knowing when to take her shot, when to attack the rim, and when to find her teammates”. It’s been her growth process.
Catchings announced that her final time on the court would be during the 2016 season. She looked a little hesitant at first, but she found her groove and rhythm. “And then she went out on D taking over where she left off”. After losing to Phoenix in the Western Conference finals last season, the Lynx avenged the defeat by sweeping the Mercury in the conference finals this year to set up a rematch with the only team to beat them in the finals.
The Lynx dealt with injuries to key players for much of the season and entered the playoffs with the starting group of Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and Sylvia Fowles having played a total of 52 minutes together in the regular season. The Fever won the final two games in the opening round against Chicago. She’s in her sixth season in the WNBA, and second in Indiana.
Three years later, the two teams are meeting again. Especially in her time with the Sparks, she seemed to be drifting away from her strength behind the arc, in part because her playing time was more limited. “If the big is too far back, she shoots a pull-up jumper”.
“It’s special to be back there”, White said. Indiana is 8-2 in elimination games the past four seasons, and Catchings is a main reason why.
“I can’t say enough about the way she played tonight”, Catchings said of her point guard. They have won two championships, but were stunned by the Fever in 2012, a loss that ultimately prevented what could have been a run of three straight titles.
“When one player’s not doing well, everybody else steps up”, Catchings said.
“I believe that no matter whether I’m scoring or not, I can make a difference in the game”. No one thinks we’ll win the finals.
The passion with which the Fever played was undeniable, but this was also just a straightforward win on execution for Indiana.
Conversely, Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve will be coaching in her fourth WNBA Finals. But we just needed to stay composed and run a few things and really execute, and that’s what we did down the stretch.
Advertisement
So the Lynx definitely knew what was coming from the Fever, but weren’t able to keep it from happening. She posted 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block on the road. “To be sitting here means a lot for the organization, for my team”.
