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Sun-Fever Preview

Jul 13, 2010 - 3:44 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Connecticut (10-8) at Indiana (11-6), 1:00 p.m. EDT

The Indiana Fever went into the All-Star break playing well. A favorable schedule when they resume play should give them a good shot at moving to the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Fever go for their eighth straight home victory when they take on the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.

Indiana (11-6) rolled into the break with nine wins in 12 contests, pulling them within two games of first-place Atlanta and one of second-place Washington in the East.

"I'm happy where we are," said swing player Katie Douglas, who averaged 14.4 points in the last five games after averaging 8.8 in the first five. "It could be worse. ... I'm proud of the way we've continued to fight back and put ourselves in position at the halfway point. We're still in contention of winning the Eastern Conference and that's what matters."

This could be a big month for Indiana, which hosts the Dream on Friday and faces the Mystics twice later in July. The Fever play five of their next seven at home, where they are 7-1.

Indiana defeated Tulsa 100-72 at Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday, posting the second-highest point total in team history.

While the Fever went into the break with an outstanding offensive effort, it's defense that has keyed their turnaround from a 2-3 start. They are allowing 70.2 points per game, fewest in the league, and limited their last four opponents to 63.8.

Indiana split a home-and-home series with Connecticut last month, winning 77-67 at home June 13. The Fever limited the Sun to 36.1 percent shooting in that game.

Unlike Indiana, Connecticut (10-8) was probably thrilled with the timing of the break, having lost three straight to drop into fourth place.

All of those defeats came on the road, where the Sun are 3-7. They fell 108-103 to Atlanta last Wednesday despite a season-high 27 points and 20 rebounds from Tina Charles.

The rookie tops the WNBA with 12.6 rebounds per game and 14 double-doubles, while leading first-year players with 15.9 points a contest. In the two games against Indiana, however, she averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 boards.

The Sun, 1-4 on their six-game trip, should be looking forward to a five-game homestand that begins Saturday. They are concluding a stretch of 11 contests in which they will have played nine times on the road.

With the East standings so tight - last-place Chicago is six games back - the Fever know they are in a fight to repeat as regular season conference champions.

"I think the East is extremely wide open," Douglas said. "It's extremely competitive this year."