Fever bring down the Sky 100-89, move on to East finals

Tamika Catchings, just a few weeks from retirement, led her Indiana Fever to their fifth straight conference final, beating the Chicago Sky 100-89 in the Windy City Monday night. The veteran forward had a record-breaking performance, becoming the first WNBA player to score 1,000 career playoff points. She finished with 27 points,  nine rebounds and six assists in game three of the semifinal series with the Sky.

“I can’t say enough about the warrior mentality of our leader,” said Fever head coach Stephanie White about Catchings. “She wills our teams to do things many don’t think our teams are capable of doing.”

MVP Elena Delle Donne put up big numbers for the Sky. She scored 40 points and pulled down six rebounds. However, the Sky could not contain the high-octane offense of the Fever as all five of Indiana’s starters scored in double figures propelling the team to the century mark.

“I thought from the very beginning we let the Indiana Fever become comfortable offensively,” said Sky head coach Pokey Chatman.

The Fever await the winner of the series between the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty.

Attendance: 2,882

By the Numbers
Box score
Points in the Paint: Fever 34, Sky 36
Second Chance Points: Fever 14, Sky 8
Fastbreak Points: Fever 7, Sky 7
Biggest Lead: Fever 14, Sky 4
Lead Changes: 11
Times Tied: 10