Indianapolis, In- They always say there no place like home. Bankers Fieldhouse was just what Indiana Fever need to break into the win column for their first victory of the season.
The Fever didn’t just win they flat out dominated the Atlanta Dream 96-64. A breakout third quarter put this game out of reach.
With three rookies the Fever never know who’s going to be hot as the team is still feeling each other out. Tonight Victoria Vivians lead the way scoring 21 points, with five three pointers.
Fever rookie Kelsey Mitchell poured in 19 points, with 5 assists on the night.
“We can’t turn this and make this the one we win,” Mitchell said. “I can make this our pick-me-up for the rest of the season.”
They finally put together a complete game and it showed, coaches words this season were not in vain.
“It was just nice to get the first one out of the way,” Fever coach Pokey Chatman said. “It wasn’t just holding onto the win. It was nice to sub people and the momentum continued in all phases of basketball.”
It took them 11 games to taste the sweet taste of victory, but most games this season they always fought hard.
“That’s the franchise,” Erica Wheeler said. “If you look up Indiana Fever, you always have teams of dogs. That’s what we got. We just need to get over the hump.”
The credit goes to the defense holding the Dream to 37% shooting from the field and 20% from behind the arc.
Now it’s time to build on this win and begin to rack up a few in a row even on the road.
“I was telling Ms. Beth that we work our tail off to trust the process and a little of our hard work finally pays off,” Mitchell said. “Not that it’s dramatic that we win, but it is because we’ve been on a drought. To get a win, it feels good.”
