Lynx-Fever Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Aug 22 2010 2:22AM

The Indiana Fever have a chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, meanwhile, have nothing to play for after seeing their playoff hopes dashed.

The Fever try to conclude the season in strong fashion Sunday when they host a Lynx team with nothing to play for in its season finale.

Indiana (21-12) has already clinched a playoff spot but consecutive losses have put it in difficult position to finish atop the East.

A win over Minnesota (12-21) combined with Washington losing at Atlanta and New York falling to Connecticut would give the Fever the top seed. However, if all three teams win, Indiana will finish third since it's conceded all of the tiebreakers to the Mystics and Liberty.

The Fever, who reached the WNBA finals last year, will have a better understanding of what they're playing for during their game Sunday, as Washington and New York have earlier starts.

The Lynx's bid for their first playoff spot since 2004 ended Saturday with the Los Angeles Sparks losing to the Seattle Storm on Saturday. Even with a victory, Minnesota does not hold any tiebreakers against San Antonio and Los Angeles if all three teams finish with 13-21 records.

Minnesota lost 89-51 at home to Indiana on June 6.

"We have to go in there and play with intensity," said guard Lindsay Whalen, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.0 assists over the last three games. "We've been playing hard and we've been playing well. We just haven't been finding the right answers at the end of games."

Whalen had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Lynx lost 98-91 at Los Angeles on Friday.

The Fever didn't do Minnesota any favors by losing 75-61 at San Antonio on Friday, as Tamika Catchings struggled by shooting 5 for 18.

The forward is among the league leaders with an average of 18.2 points while her 2.3 steals per game rank first. Despite her performance against the Silver Stars, Catchings is averaging 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists over the last four games.

She scored 27 against the Lynx in June, while Whalen missed the game with an illness.

Augustus scores 25 to lift Lynx over Fever 83-79

Posted Aug 22 2010 9:29PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Seimone Augustus scored 25 points to help the Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 83-79 in overtime on Sunday.

Charde Houston and Lindsay Whalen added 16 points each for the Lynx, who barely missed the playoffs after tying for fourth place in the West.

``I'm happy with the win,'' Lindsay Whalen said. ``I'm disappointed about not being in the playoffs. So it was bittersweet.''

Tamika Catchings had 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 16 points for Indiana, which could have earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but ended up in third place after Washington and New York won earlier in the day.

``It didn't mean as much once all the other stuff played out,'' Fever forward Ebony Hoffman said. ``We still knew we needed this game for momentum.''

Indiana will play New York in the first round starting Thursday. The Fever were alone in third place earlier this week, but finished the season on a three-game losing streak.

``The frustrating thing is not tonight, it's tonight, the San Antonio game, the New York game,'' Fever forward Tamika Catchings said. ``We had our destiny in our hands, and unfortunately, we didn't take care of business, and now we're No. 3.''

Minnesota overcame a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime after Monica Wright scored on a putback with 18.5 seconds left to tie the game at 74.

• Lynx: --
• Fever: --

• Lynx: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #42 Roy Gulbeyan, #13 Cameron Inouye, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 10015
• Duration: 2:27