PREVIEW: INDIANA FEVER
Aug. 25, 2019
HOW TO WATCH
The Seattle Storm hosts the Indiana Fever at Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday, August 25. Tip-off is scheduled at 4 p.m. PT on JOEtv and WNBA League Pass. Fans can also follow live stats on stormbasetball.com or on Twitter by following @seattlestorm.
LAST TIME OUT
In its return to Alaska Airlines Arena, the Storm notched a wire-to-wire win over Minnesota Lynx. Jordin Canada paced the team with 14 points and five other Storm players scored in double figures to help overcome 30 points by Minnesota’s Odyssey Sims.
Seattle opened with an 11-0 run and made seven 3-pointers in the first half alone, three of which came from Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis who led all reserves with 11 points.
Sims was responsible for the first 18 Lynx points of the third quarter, becoming one of just a handful of players in WNBA history to shoot 8-of-8 or better in a single frame. Minnesota finished the quarter on a 10-0 stretch to get within four of Seattle. However, Seattle pushed back to a 12-point advantage in the fourth to secure its third consecutive win over the Lynx.
SERIES HISTORY
After winning the first two matchups by a combined six-point margin, Seattle is going for the regular-season sweep and its sixth straight win over the Indiana Fever. Holding the 22-19 all-time advantage, the Storm improved to 15-5 at home in the head-to-head series after securing a slim 65-61 victory on June 23 in its debut at Alaska Airlines Arena. Jewell Loyd posted 21 points to offset 18 points from 2019 WNBA All Star MVP Erica Wheeler.
SCOUTING INDIANA
The Indiana Fever suffered its third straight loss on Thursday, falling to the Los Angeles Sparks on the road, 98-65. Kelsey Mitchell came off the bench for 14 points and Candice Dupree added 10 of her own, but no other Fever players cracked double digits.
Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while sister Chiney Ogwumike and rookie Kalani Brown combined for 25 of the Sparks’ 42 bench points.
Indiana led after 10 minutes of play, but a 22-foot jump shot from Chelsea Gray halfway through the second period ignited an 18-5 stretch for Los Angeles, who led by 12 at halftime.
Turnovers troubled Indiana in the second half, as the Fever conceded 18 points off 14 errors. Kelsey Mitchell connected four times from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, but Maria Vadeeva nearly picked up a double-double in the final frame tallying eight points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Seattle Storm returns to Alaska Airlines Arena on Tuesday, Aug. 27 to host the Connecticut Sun for the third contest this season with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.