The Indiana Fever look to extend their streak of appearances in the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals to five straight this upcoming season.
The Fever will have nearly everyone back from last year’s squad, which finished 16-18 during the regular season and was good enough to earn the No. 2 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Indiana swept Washington (2-0) in the conference semifinals before falling to the Chicago Sky in the conference finals (2-1).
Ten of the 12 players, including all five starters, that were on last season’s roster return for the Fever. Thirteen-year veteran Tamika Catchings, 35, leads the returnees. Catchings, who only appeared in 15 games last season due to injuries, led the team in scoring (16.9 per game) and was second in rebounding (6.2 per game). The nine-time WNBA All-Star holds numerous regular season and playoff records. She needs 43 steals this season to reach 1,000 for her career, according to the team’s website.
Catchings plans to retire following next year’s Summer Olympics.
“I will be retiring in 2016, Lord willing, if my body holds up. Although I plan to step away as a player that is not to say I’ll step away from the game, hopefully. I am so thankful and blessed to have had an opportunity to play the game I have loved for so long.
God has truly blessed me with an amazing playing career, and now it’s time to start transitioning to what He has for me beyond the lines of the basketball floor.”
Erlanka Larkins, Marissa Coleman, Briann January, and Shavonte Zellous are the other returning starters. Larkins and Coleman are coming off one of their best seasons of their careers, while January and Zellous each averaged double figures.
Lynetta Kizer, Layeshia Clarendon, and Sydney Carter will vie for a spot on the Fever’s bench again this year, as will newly acquired Briana Butler and Shenise Johnson. Indiana acquired Johnson from San Antonio, along with a second round draft pick, in exchange for the Fever’s first and third rounders in 2015.
The key for this season, besides the health of Catchings, will be the development of the Fever’s younger players such as Natasha Howard, Maggie Lucas, Natalie Achonwa, and Chelsea Gardner.
Howard had a solid rookie season after being selected with the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft. Howard averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Achonwa, who was selected with the No. 9 pick last year, sat out last year while recovering from an injury she suffered during her senior season at Notre Dame. Lucas, known for her scoring prowess in college, struggled during her rookie season with the Fever, while Gardner was selected in the second round by the team.
The team recently announced that Achonwa and Zellous will miss part of the season to play with the Canadian and Croatian Nation Teams.
Former Fever first round selection Jeanette Pohlen, along with rookies Tayuna Marshall and Alicia DeVaughn, are also in camp this year. Pohlen, who was drafted with the No. 9 pick in the 2011 draft, sat out last season.
Head coach Stefanie White, who replaced the retired Lin Dunn, wants the Fever to play a more up-tempo style this year. The first year coach told Fever that her No. 1 goal for this team to have success as a running, free-flowing offensive unit.
“I want it to be a fun, exciting atmosphere and a fun, exciting way to play for our team. We want to lay that foundation with the way we do things every single day.”
The Fever struggled on the offensive end last season, averaging 74.15 points, which ranked 10th in the league. In 2013, the Fever averaged only 70.8 points.
Game Recap – The #Fever led early, but the #Sun rallied to win in Louisville: http://t.co/8YaEQGlYfg pic.twitter.com/BtVfwJ7RPH
— Indiana Fever ?????? (@IndianaFever) May 23, 2015
Indiana fell to the Connecticut Sun in their preseason opener (76-68) on May 23. The Fever will host the Washington Mystics in their final tuneup on May 29 before opening the regular season on the road against the Chicago Sky on June 5.
BREAKING: On June 6, the #Fever will host a Guinness World Records® Attempt. #FeverGlowRecord
What’s Freddy up to? https://t.co/Ahv0Yu17C9
— Indiana Fever ?????? (@IndianaFever) May 20, 2015
The Fever will open their home schedule by hosting the Minnesota Lynx on June 6. WISH-TV reports that the team will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most people lighting a glowstick simultaneously at a single venue.
Indiana has been to the playoffs for 10 straight years and reached the conference seven times during the span. Overall, the Fever have made the playoffs 11 times, and they have one title (2012).
[Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images]
