INDIANAPOLIS — Marissa Coleman hit two free throws with 7.8 seconds left to seal a 70-66 victory for the Fever over the Liberty on Saturday night.
“It was a hard fought battle,” Liberty forward Plenette Pierson said. “That’s what we expect coming into Indiana. They have great players and they play well together. It came down to the wire and they made big shots and got big rebounds whey they needed to.”
The Liberty (2-4) dropped their second game in two nights. Tina Charles led the Liberty with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
The Fever (3-3) have been in a lot of tight games so far this season. Four of its first six games have been decided by five points or less. Indiana has won three straight now after dropping its first three games to open the season.
“I thought it was a really good win for us at home against a really good team,” Fever coach Lin Dunn, who earned her 200th win as a professional coach said. “But, at the end of the day, the game came down to the wire and we stepped up and hit our free throws.”
The back-and-forth battle had 14 ties and 12 lead changes before Indiana took a 68-66 lead on two free throws by Karima Christmas with 28 seconds left. Cappie Pondexter (seven points on 1-of-10 shooting) missed a jumper with 8 seconds left before Coleman’s free throws.
Briann January led Indiana with 20 points. It was her third 20-point game of the season and just her seventh in her five-year career. She also had seven assists and four steals.