What to Expect:

As the number one seed in this matchup, the Liberty seem to be the most likely to walk away with a series win.  During the regular season, Indiana won four out of their five games against New York, but this is the playoffs, and that changes not only the intensity but the style of play for both teams drastically, so previous encounters may not be very indicative of how this series will play out.

Once again, Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince will be expected to carry the majority of the scoring load for New York.  Sugar Rodgers has been outstanding in the playoffs so far, averaging 17.5 points in the last two Liberty wins over the Mystics.  Kiah Stokes, a close runner-up for rookie of the year, has also been excellent on the boards, pulling down nearly 10 per game fairly regularly.  Tanisha Wright rounds the team out as a solid defender and an effective distributor.

On the other hand, Indiana has Tamika Catchings.  Generally, her role for the Fever is to pretty much do whatever they need done, be it scoring, stealing, playing solid post-defense, assisting, or rebounding.  Even in the twilight of her career, if she gets a head of steam, she can carry the Fever through almost any opposition.  

But the Fever will need big performances by more than just Catchings to get past New York.  Erlana Larkins, though she was out much of the year due to injury, is now back and doing her usual blue-collar work collecting offensive rebounds and making second-chance put-backs.  Shenise Johnson has been a consistent scoring addition for Indiana after being traded by the Silver Stars.  Marissa Coleman, Briann January, and Shavonte Zellous are all key players for the Fever as well- for Indiana to have a chance, several of these starters will need to step up and have BIG performances.

 

Game 1: New York 84, Indiana 67

 

Key Players (Liberty):

Kiah Stokes- 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks

Tina Charles- 18 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks

Epiphanny Prince- 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Sugar Rodgers- 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists

 

Key Players (Fever):

Shenise Johnson- 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

Shavonte Zellous- 9 points, 5 rebounds

Erlana Larkins- 8 points, 3 rebounds

Marissa Coleman- 8 points, 3 rebounds

 

Both teams shot very well in the early going (New York 61% FG, Indiana 58%).  New York made all 4 of their first quarter three-point attempts and went on a 10-2 run from 3 Indiana turnovers at the end of the quarter to put the Liberty up 26-18.  Sugar Rodgers and Kiah Stokes were unstoppable, scoring a combined 21 in the first half alone.  At halftime, New York was leading 14-6 in assists (5 of them from Tina Charles- who knew she could be a passer, too?) and had 4 fewer turnovers than the Fever.

Indiana missed its first 8 baskets of the second half and dropped to 44% shooting, which allowed New York to lengthen the lead to 64-49.   New York really turned up the defensive pressure in that time, carrying their momentum into the fourth quarter and maintaining about a 20 point lead to the end.  The smaller Fever lineup never found an answer to the Tina Charles- Kiah Stokes combo, and the Liberty came away with their first win in the series.

 

Game 2: Indiana 70, New York 64

 

Key Players (Liberty):

Tina Charles- 25 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists

Epiphanny Prince- 12 points, 2 steals

Tanisha Wright- 7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals

Kiah Stokes- 0 points, 11 rebounds

 

Key Players (Fever):

Tamika Catchings- 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals

Shenise Johnson- 12 points, 6 rebounds

Marissa Coleman- 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks

Shavonte Zellous- 10 points, 3 rebounds

 

This game was more of the defensive struggle that I was expecting in Game 1.  This led to a good deal more turnovers in the first quarter than usual, 4 for New York, 6 for Indiana.  However, due to a nearly 60% shooting percentage, going into the second period, the score was a reasonable 22-17.  New York turned up the defense, reducing Indiana’s shooting percentage to 43% (they scored only 11 points in the final 12 minutes of the first half).  The Liberty forced 9 Fever turnovers for 17 points, and Tina Charles was a beast in the post, scoring 17 points and pulling down 6 rebounds for a halftime 44-29 Liberty lead.

The Fever cut the lead to 46-39 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter behind the aggressive driving, shooting, and rebounding of Tamika Catchings.  Turnovers crippled the Liberty’s offense during that time and both teams saw shot after shot roll into the basket and right back out again.  The fourth quarter was where Indiana really made the game interesting.  The Fever went on a 13-0 run (6 points coming from Catchings, who pretty much just wouldn’t let her team lose at home) to start the final 10 minutes and tied it up 55-55.  The rest of the game was a pretty even contest- Coleman hit two big threes, Catchings hit a jumper to put the Fever up by 1 in the final minute, and Shenise Johnson got a huge rebound on a miss from New York to get Indiana the 70-64 win.

 

Game 3: Indiana 66, New York 51

 

Key Players (Liberty):

Candice Wiggins- 15 points

Tina Charles- 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 turnovers

Epiphanny Prince- 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers

Swin Cash- 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

 

Key Players (Fever):

Marissa Coleman- 15 points, 3 rebounds

Tamika Catchings- 14 points, 4 rebounds

Erlana Larkins- 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 5 turnovers

Briann January- 8 points, 8 assists, 6 steals

 

I’m not trying to dismiss Indiana’s victory, but it felt like New York lost this game a lot more than Indiana won.  The first possession for the Liberty resulted in a turnover, which was pretty emblematic of the entire game (overall, New York had 21 to Indiana’s 14).  The Liberty outrebounded the Fever 8-1 early on, but after that the battle for the boards mostly evened out.  Both teams began shooting the ball poorly, but the Fever eventually improved to 49.1% from the field whereas the Liberty had an abysmal 33.3% for the game.  After 10 minutes, the score was a measly 15-13 Fever.  Indiana went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter that put them up 27-18, so by halftime, they had extended the lead to 33-22.

Marissa Coleman scored 3 three-pointers for Indiana right out of halftime, stemming New York’s feeble attempts at gaining some momentum.  At the end of the third quarter, New York finally started hitting some shots from the perimeter, trimming the lead to 49-40.  They continued the run into the fourth, coming as close as 49-45 before the Fever reasserted themselves.  Indiana executed their offense masterfully and forced more perimeter shooting from New York, which was unable to make more from long range.  After that it kind of fell apart for New York, who eventually fell 51-66 to the Fever’s onslaught.

Once again, the Fever has exceeded expectations to upset yet another seemingly more talented team.  Their next test: the Minnesota Lynx.