The Fever-Sun game had everything you could want (clutch shots, solid defense) and although it had some moments of serious ugly (bad shot selection, turnovers), it was a fantastic game. But unless you were at the casino, live in Indiana or Connecticut, or got up early this morning to see the replay, you did not see the whole thing. Maybe the Little League team from Japan has some new fans now.
Tamika Catchings and Ashja Jones both returned from injury and played (a lot). Connecticut looked to be in control of the game. With a few minutes left in the third quarter, they had a 17 point lead. But the Fever started chipping away and Anna DeForge got hot at the right time. She hit three pointers to force the first and second sessions of overtime and tied a career high with 31 points.
Yet despite the heroics from DeForge and Catchings and the rest of their team, the Sun found a way to eventually win, 93-88, in the first triple overtime game in playoff history. "I've never been involved in anything like that before," Jones said. "I don't even know. Three overtimes, never. How does that happen?" Lindsay Whalen added, "There was a point there, after the second overtime where I didn't know if it was going to end or not."
Both teams had several players step up at different moments in the game. On the winning side, Katie Douglas struggled from the floor and missed a couple of opportunities to win the game in regulation and in the first and second overtime. But she had a playoff record eight steals. Whalen did not get going offensively until overtime, but had nine assists in regulation and like Catchings, nearly had a triple double. Nykesha Sales and Jones were the top scorers for the Sun with 25 and 20 points. And both Sales and Kristen Rasmussen hit key shots in the final overtime that saw the Sun close the game with a 10-0 run.
Tamika Whitmore, who had 24 points and 14 rebounds, also suggests that the officials came up big for the Sun. "It seemed like it was eight against five the whole night," Whitmore said "We've just got to do what we've got to do when we go home."
Tamika Catchings and Ashja Jones both returned from injury and played (a lot). Connecticut looked to be in control of the game. With a few minutes left in the third quarter, they had a 17 point lead. But the Fever started chipping away and Anna DeForge got hot at the right time. She hit three pointers to force the first and second sessions of overtime and tied a career high with 31 points.
Yet despite the heroics from DeForge and Catchings and the rest of their team, the Sun found a way to eventually win, 93-88, in the first triple overtime game in playoff history. "I've never been involved in anything like that before," Jones said. "I don't even know. Three overtimes, never. How does that happen?" Lindsay Whalen added, "There was a point there, after the second overtime where I didn't know if it was going to end or not."
Both teams had several players step up at different moments in the game. On the winning side, Katie Douglas struggled from the floor and missed a couple of opportunities to win the game in regulation and in the first and second overtime. But she had a playoff record eight steals. Whalen did not get going offensively until overtime, but had nine assists in regulation and like Catchings, nearly had a triple double. Nykesha Sales and Jones were the top scorers for the Sun with 25 and 20 points. And both Sales and Kristen Rasmussen hit key shots in the final overtime that saw the Sun close the game with a 10-0 run.
Tamika Whitmore, who had 24 points and 14 rebounds, also suggests that the officials came up big for the Sun. "It seemed like it was eight against five the whole night," Whitmore said "We've just got to do what we've got to do when we go home."
posted by Anonymous at 5:38 AM
