Fever defense and free throw struggles lead to loss vs Liberty: Likes and Dislikes
The Fever have lost two games in a row.
MY COUCH, Ind. – The Indiana Fever were in New York on Saturday night for the fourth game of their ongoing road swing, and this one had familiar stakes to a few of their other games on the trip.
Like their battles with the Dream in Atlanta and with the Wings in Dallas, this outing had playoff, and tiebreaker, implications. The Fever entered Saturday with a two-game lead in the standings over the Liberty and led the season series 2-1. They could secure the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win.
Leonie Fiebich, a talented defender, was back for New York. It marked her first game since July 3, adding to the challenge for the Fever. Likes and dislikes from Fever vs Liberty.
Tony East
LIKE: Aliyah Boston vs Jonquel Jones
Jonquel Jones has historically been one of the rare matchups that gives Aliyah Boston trouble. This season, Boston has made a ton of progress in that battle, but Jones' skill and shooting is a huge challenge.
Early on, she was the Liberty's best player. At the first stoppage, the former MVP already had eight points on 2/4 shooting and three made foul shots. Jones was a force.
She also had two first quarter fouls. Boston was attacking her and started 2/3 from the field with a pair of assists. Jones and Boston were battling to open the game, and it was the story as the Fever took a 19-17 lead.
DISLIKE: First quarter Fever defense
The Fever's success against the Liberty this season has come from their pace. That advantage was neutralized in the first quarter as New York sped up their play without losing any effectiveness.
They moved the ball well and got from action to action with little resistance. The Fever could not stop them. New York shot 4/7 from deep in the first quarter and 65% from the field overall. They won the rebounding battle and had just two turnovers.
It was a poor defensive frame for the Fever, who trailed 33-26 after 10 minutes.
LIKE: Caitlin Clark, getting going
While the Fever, as a team, were struggling to put a dent in the Liberty lead early in the second quarter, Caitlin Clark was doing her part.
In the first five minutes of the second period, Clark had seven points on 3/6 shooting and drilled her first outside shot of the game. Her long twos were falling previously, but her triples in the first quarter kept bouncing out. In the second frame, she finally hit one.
That strong start to the quarter helped the Fever cut their deficit down to four.
DISLIKE: Scattered poor play to end the first half
The Liberty went on a 9-5 run to close the first half, which isn't truly much of a run. But the Fever kept running into hurdles and were outplayed in the final 3:12 of the second quarter.
They dealt with frontcourt challenges defensively – Monique Billings couldn't contain Jones during the few possessions in which they were matched up. And the Fever didn't handle the Liberty's full-court pressure well.
New York kept mixing up their defense. The Fever were just a bit slower executing their sets as a result, and the Liberty carried a 53-49 lead into halftime. Jones, Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell all were in double figures at the break.
LIKE: High-level basketball
The first four-ish minutes of the third quarter were absurd, in the best way. Both teams simply couldn't miss, regardless of shot quality.
In the first 4.5 minutes of the second half, the lead didn't change. It was 16-16 in that stretch. Combined, the Fever and Liberty shot 13/16 with just one foul and one turnover.
The game went end-to-end quickly, and both teams scored almost every trip. At one point, seven-straight possessions went by with a basket on every one. There were four threes in that stretch.
The Fever weren't mounting a comeback. But they were playing some fun basketball.
DISLIKE: Closing quarters poorly
The Fever have struggled to close quarters often this season, and that issue popped up again to end the third period in Brooklyn.
New York's lead was three with 2:20 left in the frame. They were up nine 38 seconds later, scoring with ease and, a rarity in this game, getting a few stops. Han Xu, in particular, was giving the Fever a ton of trouble. Billings couldn't stop her.
The Liberty scored 12 points in the final 2:32 of the quarter, ballooning their lead in a tight game. The Fever couldn't keep up.
LIKE: Slowly, but surely
The Fever cut their deficit down to one in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter with good energy and better defense.
New York started the final frame 3/10 from the field, finally providing the Fever offense an opening. And they took advantage, shooting 7/11 in that stretch. Clark, Mitchell, and Sophie Cunningham each hit two field goals during that run of play.
For a moment, a New York win felt inevitable. Their lead reached 10. But the Fever fought back and were down 96-95 with four minutes left.
LIKE: Comeback complete
The Fever mixed in some zone defense in the fourth quarter, and it forced the Liberty to settle for some ugly shots.
That, combined with steady offense, helped the Fever erase a 10-point fourth quarter deficit. Mitchell hit a three that tied the game at 100 with 104 seconds to go.
DISLIKE: Free throws late
The Fever struggled with both fouls and free throws in the final 90 seconds.
Myisha Hines-Allen got put into isolation twice, and she committed a foul both times – including an and-one. Clark committed a frustration foul the Fever didn't need after the refs missed a call that would have put her on the charity stripe in the final 40 seconds.
And then, Clark missed two clutch free throws on the very next play. The Fever finished the game 11/22 at the foul line while New York went 24/29. That played a big part in the final result.
And that result, thanks to late Fever failures, was a 109-102 loss for the Fever. The Fever are now 24-14 with six games to go, and they split the regular season series 2-2 with the Liberty.
Thank you for reading. I will be in Chicago for the Fever-Sky rematch tomorrow night. Sign up and my story from that game will be sent straight to your email inbox.
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