• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Fever-Liberty Preview

Jun 26, 2009 - 2:55 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Indiana (4-2) at New York (2-4), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Thanks to a comeback victory and a home-and-home sweep against the defending champions, the Indiana Fever have a chance for one of their longest win streaks in franchise history.

That attempt for a fifth straight win comes Friday night at Madison Square Garden with the start of another home-and-home series, this time against the New York Liberty.

With its best shooting performance of the season, Indiana (4-2) rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half for an 82-70 victory Sunday against visiting Detroit. Tully Bevilaqua started the comeback with eight straight points, and Katie Douglas scored 17 of her team-leading 23 over the final 13 1/2 minutes.

"Tonight, I was in that rhythm, and my teammates were able to find me," said Douglas, who is averaging a team-best 17.7 points. "We weren't satisfied with going up (to Detroit) and getting one win. We needed to protect our home court. This is an Eastern Conference game, so we knew the importance of it."

The Fever shot 54.5 percent and matched another season high with nine 3-pointers, hitting eight during their rally. Tamika Catchings scored 15 points on Sunday and in Friday night's 66-54 win in Detroit, helping sweep the team that's eliminated Indiana from the playoffs each of the last three seasons

The Fever have won four in a row five times in the franchise's 10-year history but recorded five straight wins only once. With a sweep of the Liberty, Indiana can match its record six straight wins set from July 1-18, 2007.

New York, however, will come into Friday's game looking to regroup from Tuesday night's 69-57 loss at Minnesota.

The Liberty (2-4) had showed signs of improvement following an 0-3 start by averaging 85.0 points in wins versus San Antonio and at Atlanta. In Tuesday's game, they matched their worst offensive output of the season and shot 35.1 percent.

"I give (Minnesota) credit. They lost two in a row and they were desperate and they played with that desperation," Liberty coach Pat Coyle said. "We didn't."

Shameka Christon was the only player to score in double figures with 25. The veteran forward continues to lead her team with 18.2 points per game and 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The Fever have won nine of the 11 meetings over the previous three seasons, including a 71-55 victory in the league's first outdoor game at Arthur Ashe Stadium last July 19.

However, New York has won the past two of the past three matchups on its home floor and endured triple overtime for a 102-96 victory in the teams' only meeting at Madison Square Garden last season.

After that victory, the Liberty averaged 57.0 points in consecutive defeats to Indiana.

The teams play again Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.