The Indiana Fever has a message for all of us who shook our collective heads after starting 0-2. Get on board while you can.
Overcoming a 17-point deficit in the second half, they rallied to an impressive 82-70 win over the defending champion Detroit Shock in front of 7,610 appreciative and enthusiastic fans.
Playing Detroit for the second time in just two days, things did not look good for the home team as they trailed at half, 48-37.
They would cut the advantage to just six at the end of the third quarter, and then begin the final stanza with back to back three point baskets from Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings, to tie the score at 60.
From there the impressive comeback would continue as the Fever outscored the Shock by a count of 22-10 to secure their fourth straight victory and improve their season mark to 4-2.
Katie Douglas had a splendid night, shooting nine of 11 from the field in route to 23 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Tamika Catchings, while still not 100 percent physically, added 15 points and a team high of six assists.
Tammy Sutton-Brown dropped in 13 points while adding a game high nine rebounds in the process.
Detroit, who placed four players in double figures, was led by Deanna Nolan who paced the Shock with 16 points and eight rebounds. Katie Smith contributed 15 points and Shavonte Zellous added 13 for Detroit who fell to 1-4 for the season.
Notes: The Fever demonstrated excellent ball movement in route to 23 assists on 30 field goals, and their comeback from 17 points down was the second largest point swing in team history.
Tammy Sutton-Brown, who had two blocked shots, became the sixth player in WNBA history to reach 400 blocked shots.
The Shock committed 15 turnovers which led to 20 Fever points. The Fever also had 22 points in the paint.
Detroit, who is off to their worst start since 2002, should get Plenette Pearson and Kara Braxton back in the lineup soon.
Pearson has been troubled by her right shoulder and Braxton is serving a league imposed suspension for off the court conduct.
Former NBA great Bill Laimbeer recently resigned as the Detroit coach and was replaced by another NBA great in Rick Mahorn who was an assistant at the time for the Shock.
A physical and menacing player in his day, Mahorn looked rather dapper in his custom made suit roaming the sideline.
Pacer assistant coaches Dan Burke and Lester Conner were in attendance for the game. I asked Conner for some insight to the upcoming NBA draft and he simply smiled and politely offered no comment on the matter. A smart answer if I ever heard one.
The Fever have home games on June 27 against New York, July 2 against Connecticut, and July 5 against Atlanta.
Tickets for all three games are currently still available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, which can be reached at (317) 917-2727.
Danny Bridges, who thinks Fever basketball is a great source of entertainment for fans of all ages, encourages reader feedback and can be reached at (317) 578-1780, or Bridgeshd@aol.com.
