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Fever beat Liberty 63-54 for 6th straight win

Jun 28, 2009 - 2:37 AM INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- The Indiana Fever aren't showing any signs of slowing down.

After an 0-2 start, the Fever continued to roll with a 63-54 victory over the New York Liberty on Saturday night, tying a franchise record with their sixth consecutive win.

Indiana (6-2), which also won six straight in July 2007, is one game ahead of Chicago atop the Eastern Conference standings.

"As a team, we're playing with a lot of confidence," said Indiana forward Tamika Catchings, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. "It seems like the chemistry is there and that's something we've worked so hard to get over the years."

The Fever didn't get discouraged following season-opening losses to Atlanta and Minnesota.

"We're on a pretty good roll, but nothing is promised," Indiana forward Ebony Hoffman said. "We can't think we're going to win every game because every team has beefed up their roster. Right now, we're just trying to ride this wave and hopefully it keeps going."

Hoffman had 14 points, Tully Bevilaqua scored 13 and Katie Douglas 11 for the Fever, who beat the Liberty for the second straight night. Indiana had an 82-81 overtime win at New York on Friday.

"This was a great test for us," Catchings said. "Two games, back-to-back, against a team we're going to face another couple times."

Essence Carson had 14 points and Shameka Christon scored 11 for the Liberty (2-6), who have lost three straight for the second time this season. New York shot 33 percent for the game and made just 4-of-13 field goals in the fourth quarter.

"We talked about needing to make the open shots," Liberty coach Pat Coyle said. "Defense was good. On the offensive end, we need to make the shots."

After trailing by 17 in the third quarter, New York pulled to 56-50 on Tiffany Jackson's three-point play with 5 minutes left. The Fever answered with Hoffman's 3-pointer to regain the momentum.

"Once she hit that 3, our defense went up another notch and we kind of went away with it," Catchings said.

The Liberty, who appeared fatigued in the fourth quarter, couldn't muster another rally.

"Both teams have to travel in this league and we're all on an even playing field," Carson said. "We can't use that as an excuse."