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Fever-Mercury Preview

Aug 7, 2009 - 5:20 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Indiana (16-4) at Phoenix (16-6), 10:00 p.m. EDT

The Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury each have a stranglehold on their respective conference, but neither has yet encountered what could be the biggest challenge on the way to a WNBA title - each other.

The powerhouses will stage a potential finals preview for the first time this season Saturday night in Phoenix, as the Fever carry a four-game winning streak into the opener of their three-game road trip.

After losing their first two games, Indiana (16-4) has won 16 of 18 to seize a comfortable lead in the Eastern Conference, using a staunch defense to hold opponents to a league-low 71.8 points per game.

The Fever will be tested, however, by the top-scoring offense in the WNBA, as the Mercury (16-6) have used a fast-paced style to open a 3 1/2-game edge in the West. They're averaging 92.4 points but also allowing a league-high 88.6.

They also could be getting even stronger with the return of forward Penny Taylor, who has come back to complement All-Star guards Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter.

Taylor spent 12 weeks recovering from ankle reconstruction surgery, but in her second game of the year the Australian scored seven of her 18 points in overtime during a 101-90 win at Seattle on Tuesday.

"I want to act shocked, surprised, but that's Penny. When she gets going she's tough to stop," Taurasi said. "She still has some time yet to get her timing down and strength back but games like this can only help."

That game capped a 4-1 road trip for Phoenix, which is 9-2 at home.

The Fever, meanwhile, are 5-3 on the road, with nine of their 14 remaining games outside of Indiana. In their only previous road game against a West team, they lost 84-65 at San Antonio on July 23.

Indiana has won its last four games overall, however, including a 76-67 victory over Chicago on Wednesday. That triumph came despite 38.4 percent shooting, with starting guards Katie Douglas and Tully Bevilaqua hitting 3 of 14 from 3-point range.

Douglas scored 14 points after averaging 30.0 in the previous three games.

"We know we didn't play a great game tonight," Bevilaqua said. "Defensively, we made a lot of mental errors. The fact that we are still finding a way while we are shooting poorly or having these moments of lapse of concentration, that says a lot about our character."

The Fever won both meetings with Phoenix last year, including an 88-84 road win on July 27, 2008. The teams will meet again in Indiana on Sept. 2.

While each club has the inside track on home-court advantage within the conference playoffs, the head-to-head meetings could be key in determining which team would host a possible finals series.