Fever revives basketball tradition in Indianapolis
Micah McVicker | Staff Writer
Ten seasons into its history, the Indiana Fever has accomplished something unprecedented in the young franchise’s history. The team has made it to the WNBA Finals, only to face the league’s champions from two years ago.
The Fever’s first game in the finals, which will go down in WNBA history as the highest-scoring contest to date, did not go according to plan as they fell to Diana Taurasi, Cappie Poindexter and the host Phoenix Mercury 120-116 in overtime on Sept. 29. The team set franchise records in points and field goal percentage with .556 in the loss.
The Fever reached their Finals appearance at the expense of the Detroit Shock, taking the Eastern Conference Finals series 2-1 by defeating the Shock 62-57 in front of a sold out Conseco Fieldhouse. The Fever’s Eastern Conference championship denied the Shock their fourth consecutive championship round appearance.
The Fever reached the Finals in head coach Lin Dunn’s second season on the bench.
“I am very excited that Lin has agreed to take the leadership role of this team,” said Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf said at a press conference to introduce Dunn as coach. “I look forward to building a WNBA championship team with Lin.”
The Fever are three games away from reaching that goal set merely 22 months ago.
In 2009, Dunn guided the Fever to a 22-12 regular-season record, including an 11-game winning streak June 9-17. The Fever collected the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to enjoy home court advantage.
It’s often said that to be the best requires beating the best. The Fever’s path to the Finals was no exception.
Detroit has ended the Fever’s championship run for three consecutive seasons. In September 2008, the Shock defeated the Fever in three games in the first-round series. In 2006 and 2008, the Shock went on to take the championship. In 2007, the Phoenix Mercury dispatched the Shock in five games to take the WNBA crown.
This year, however, is different. After this year’s victory that propelled the Fever past the Shock, guard Tully Bevilaqua told Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz that she was not content with merely reaching the Finals.
“I’ve already told my teammates, what you’re feeling now is only a half of what you’re going to feel when you win the championship,’’ said Bevilaqua, who won a WNBA title with the Seattle Storm in 2004. “We’re not done yet.’’
A key to the Fever’s success was the February 2008 acquisition of hometown hero Katie Douglas. The Fever traded Tamika Whitmore, its first-round pick in the 2008 draft, and Jessica Foley for the former Perry Meridian High School and Purdue University star.
In Game 1, Douglas scored a playoff career-high of 30 points. She also contributed three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Fever bounced back Oct. 1 in Game 2 in the desert, beating the Mercury 93-84.
Indiana narrowly extended their winning streak at home on Oct. 4, winning 86-85 in front of a sold-out crowd. Forward Ebony Hoffman lead the Fever by scoring 18 points, including the game-winner.
Perhaps, win or lose, the most important result of this playoff run will ascertain the Fever’s long-term presence in Indianapolis.
“We want to keep trying to make this thing work for the city and for everybody involved. I think we’re headed in the right direction with things. Hopefully, success will help our fan base. The fan base is what we’re looking for,” said owner Herb Simon in an Indianapolis Star story on Sept. 30.
Fans will have another opportunity to demonstrate their desire to keep the Fever in central Indiana with Game 4 on Oct. 7 at home. These will be the first professional basketball championship games the city has hosted since the 2000 NBA Finals.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this, so we’re excited,” Simon said in the story. “Very excited, very pleased and very proud.”
