Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever

Epiphanny Prince, Sky hand fever sixth consecutive loss

Epiphanny Prince scored 21 points to lead the Sky to a 71-61 victory over the short-handed Fever on Saturday night.

Chicago held Indiana without a field goal for nearly 6 minutes of the fourth quarter to rally for the lead and pull away as the Sky finished with a 22-10 edge in the final period.

"It's nice to pull out a grinding win," Chicago coach Pokey Chatman said. "We held them to 24 points in the second half. We rebounded the ball and were able to run. Indiana's hurting and having different lineups and defenses."

Elena Delle Donne had 13 points and seven rebounds and Sylvia Fowles scored 11 points for the Sky (5-3). Prince shot 8-for-14 from the field.

The Fever led from the middle of the first quarter to the middle of the fourth before the Sky used a 15-2 run to take control as Indiana went 0-for-10 from the field during their drought.

Shavonte Zellous scored 17 points to lead the defending champion Fever (1-6), who were without perennial All-Star Tamika Catchings as they lost their sixth straight. Catchings, sidelined by a lower back injury, became the sixth player to miss a game for Indiana this season.

Katie Douglas (lower back), Erin Phillips (torn right meniscus) and Jeanette Pohlen (torn left ACL) are not expected to return before mid-July, and Jessica Davenport (left tibia stress fracture) is out for the season. Also, rookie Layshia Clarendon was recently out for a game with a sprained ankle.

"On paper, we aren't even supposed to be close," Indiana coach Lin Dunn said. "They should've blown us out of the building. You've got to give these players (credit) for battling."

After Erlana Larkins' layup put the Fever ahead 54-49 with 8:24 remaining, the Sky went on their decisive run. Delle Donne started it with two free throws and a jumper to pull Chicago within one. Clarendon made two free throws to put Indiana's lead back up to three with 6:41 to go, and Prince followed with two jumpers 1:08 apart to put the Sky ahead near the midpoint of the quarter. It was their first lead since midway through the first.

Delle Donne capped the run with a jumper to give Chicago a 64-56 lead with 2:59 left.

"We started off slow in the first three quarters," said Delle Donne, the second overall pick in this year's WNBA draft. "We relied on our defense to get us in the game. Some people were able to make their shots, which allowed us to win."

Jessica Breland's layup with 2:26 remaining ended Indiana's field-goal drought of 5:58.

"The last four minutes they took control and the lead and we couldn't overcome and get the lead back," Zellous said.

Offense was tough to come by for the Fever as they shot 23 percent in the second half and 32 percent for the game. Indiana forced 17 turnovers and scored 19 points from them, but it wasn't enough.

Regular Season Series

IND wins series 3-1