2019 Indiana Fever season

2019 Indiana Fever season
CoachPokey Chatman
ArenaBankers Life Fieldhouse
Attendance5,887 per game
Results
Record13–21 (.382)
Place4th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
PointsKelsey Mitchell – 13.6 ppg
ReboundsTeaira McCowan – 9.0 rpg
AssistsErica Wheeler – 5.0 apg
Media
TelevisionFox Sports Indiana, WNDY-TV, ESPN2, NBATV

The 2019 WNBA season was the 20th season for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Fever opened the season on May 24, 2019 against the New York Liberty.[1]

The Fever had a promising start to their season, winning three of their first four games. However, from there they lost eight of their next ten to finish June with a 5–9 record. July proved disastrous for any playoff hopes the team had. Six losses in the month were book-ended by two wins. One bright spot from July was that Erica Wheeler was named WNBA All-Star Game MVP. The Fever's form improved into August where they posted a 4–5 record. Winning their last two games proved too little too late, as they missed out on a playoff spot for the third straight year.

After the season, it was announced that General Manager and Head Coach Pokey Chatman would not return for the 2020 season.[2]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft

The Fever made three selections in the 2019 WNBA draft, which was held on April 10:

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 3 Teaira McCowan  United States Mississippi State
3 25 Paris Kea  United States North Carolina
3 28 Caliya Robinson  United States Georgia

Trades and roster changes

Date Details
February 1, 2019 Signed F Natalie Achonwa[3][4]
Signed G Shenise Johnson[3][4]
Signed Erica Wheeler[3][4]
February 5, 2019 Signed G/F Betnijah Laney[5][6]
February 18, 2019 Signed F Asia Taylor to Training Camp Contract[7]
April 12, 2019 Signed G Crystal Bradford to Training Camp Contract[8]
Signed G Bria Gross to Training Camp Contract[8]

Roster

2019 Indiana Fever roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 11 Canada Achonwa, Natalie 6' 3" (1.91m) 190 lb (86kg) 11-22-1992 Notre Dame 4
G 25 United States Burke, Kennedy 6' 1" (1.85m) 182 lb (83kg) 08-16-1997 UCLA R
F 4 United States Dupree, Candice 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) 02-25-1984 Temple 13
G 42 United States Johnson, Shenise 5' 11" (1.8m) 172 lb (78kg) 12-09-1990 Miami (FL) 6
G 7 United States Kea, Paris 5' 9" (1.75m) 142 lb (64kg) 04-07-1996 North Carolina R
G 44 United States Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 10-29-1993 Rutgers 3
F 23 United States Mavunga, Stephanie 6' 3" (1.91m) 205 lb (93kg) 02-24-1995 Ohio State 1
F 22 United States McCall, Erica 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) 08-21-1995 Stanford 2
C 15 United States McCowan, Teaira 6' 7" (2.01m) 239 lb (108kg) 09-28-1996 Mississippi State R
G 3 United States Mitchell, Tiffany 5' 9" (1.75m) 152 lb (69kg) 09-23-1994 South Carolina 4
G 0 United States Mitchell, Kelsey 5' 11" (1.8m) 151 lb (68kg) 11-12-1995 Ohio State 1
G 35 United States Vivians, Victoria 6' 1" (1.85m) 183 lb (83kg) 11-17-1994 Mississippi State 1
G 17 United States Wheeler, Erica 5' 7" (1.7m) 143 lb (65kg) 05-02-1991 Rutgers 4
Head coach
United States Pokey Chatman (LSU)
Assistant coaches
United States Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech)
Athletic trainer
United States Todd Champlin (Daemen)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Chase Campbell (Ball State)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Schedule

Preseason

2019 pre-season game log
May: 3–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 14 @ Chicago Sky W 69–58 K. Mitchell (11) McCowan (8) K. Mitchell (4) Wintrust Arena
4,033 		1–0
2 May 16 Chicago Sky W 76–65 T. Mitchell (15) Tied (7) Wheeler (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
3,794 		2–0
3 May 19 @ Dallas Wings W 71–66 K. Mitchell (26) McCowan (6) Johnson (6) College Park Center
3,428 		3–0
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log
Total: 13–21 (Home: 7–10 Road: 6–11)
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 24 @ New York Liberty W 81–80 T. Mitchell (22) Dupree (7) Wheeler (5) Westchester County Center
1,965 		1–0
2 May 28 @ Connecticut Sun L 77–88 Wheeler (26) Dupree (8) Wheeler (9) Mohegan Sun Arena
4,781 		1–1
June : 4–8 (Home: 2–4; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
3 June 1 New York Liberty W 92–77 K. Mitchell (23) McCowan (6) Wheeler (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,003 		2–1
4 June 7 Dallas Wings W 79–64 Achonwa (17) Tied (11) Wheeler (9) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
3,671 		3–1
5 June 9 Phoenix Mercury L 87–94 K. Mitchell (26) Achonwa (7) K. Mitchell (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
3,336 		3–2
6 June 11 Seattle Storm L 82–84 K. Mitchell (21) Dupree (15) K. Mitchell (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
3,506 		3–3
7 June 13 @ Dallas Wings W 76–72 Dupree (20) Laney (11) T. Mitchell (5) College Park Center
3,562 		4–3
8 June 15 Chicago Sky L 64–70 K. Mitchell (16) T. Mitchell (8) Wheeler (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
4,715 		4–4
9 June 19 @ Atlanta Dream L 78–88 Dupree (19) McCowan (14) Wheeler (5) State Farm Arena
6,474 		4–5
10 June 21 @ Chicago Sky W 76–69 Wheeler (28) McCowan (13) Wheeler (8) Wintrust Arena
4,945 		5–5
11 June 23 @ Seattle Storm L 61–65 Wheeler (18) McCowan (13) Wheeler (4) Alaska Airlines Arena
7,211 		5–6
12 June 25 Minnesota Lynx L 74–78 K. Mitchell (17) 3 tied (7) Wheeler (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
4,692 		5–7
13 June 28 @ Phoenix Mercury L 69–91 Dupree (15) McCowan (10) Wheeler (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena
9,435 		5–8
14 June 29 @ Las Vegas Aces L 97–102 (OT) K. Mitchell (21) Achonwa (9) Wheeler (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center
4,581 		5–9
July : 2–6 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
15 July 5 @ Dallas Wings W 76–58 T. Mitchell (16) McCowan (12) Wheeler (7) College Park Center
5,093 		6–9
16 July 10 Las Vegas Aces L 71–74 Dupree (13) McCowan (12) Wheeler (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
9,247 		6–10
17 July 12 Los Angeles Sparks L 84–90 Tied (11) 3 tied (5) K. Mitchell (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7,849 		6–11
18 July 14 Connecticut Sun L 63–76 K. Mitchell (14) McCowan (8) Tied (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,434 		6–12
19 July 19 Washington Mystics L 88–95 (OT) Wheeler (18) Achonwa (12) Wheeler (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,726 		6–13
20 July 21 @ Chicago Sky L 70–78 Wheeler (13) McCowan (16) Wheeler (9) Wintrust Arena
6,614 		6–14
21 July 23 @ Phoenix Mercury L 77–95 Wheeler (18) McCowan (9) Wheeler (9) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,528 		6–15
22 July 31 Atlanta Dream W 61–59 Wheeler (15) McCowan (14) K. Mitchell (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,702 		7–15
August : 4–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
23 August 3 Minnesota Lynx W 86–75 K. Mitchell (20) McCowan (8) K. Mitchell (9) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7,884 		8–15
24 August 8 @ Washington Mystics L 78–91 K. Mitchell (18) Mavunga (6) K. Mitchell (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,013 		8–16
25 August 10 Atlanta Dream W 87–82 Wheeler (19) Dupree (9) Wheeler (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7,923 		9–16
26 August 18 @ Washington Mystics L 68–107 T. Mitchell (17) McCowan (10) Achonwa (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,034 		9–17
27 August 20 New York Liberty L 76–82 McCowan (24) McCowan (8) Tied (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,340 		9–18
28 August 22 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 65–98 K. Mitchell (14) McCowan (7) Wheeler (6) Staples Center
8,816 		9–19
29 August 25 @ Seattle Storm W 63–54 McCowan (22) McCowan (19) Tied (3) Alaska Airlines Arena
8,076 		10–19
30 August 27 Las Vegas Aces W 86–71 McCowan (24) McCowan (17) 4 tied (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,958 		11–19
31 August 29 Los Angeles Sparks L 83–87 McCowan (24) McCowan (10) K. Mitchell (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,641 		11–20
September : 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
32 September 1 @ Minnesota Lynx L 73–81 Dupree (18) McCowan (11) T. Mitchell (6) Target Center
8,833 		11–21
33 September 6 @ New York Liberty W 86–81 K. Mitchell (22) McCowan (13) Wheeler (6) Westchester County Center
2,301 		12–21
34 September 8 Connecticut Sun W 104–76 K. Mitchell (38) McCowan (9) Laney (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,451 		13–21
2019 season schedule

Standings

# Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Washington Mystics (1) 26 8 .765 – 14–3 12–5 13–3
2 Connecticut Sun (2) 23 11 .676 3 15–2 8–9 11–5
3 Chicago Sky (5) 20 14 .588 6 12–5 8–9 11–5
4 e –Indiana Fever 13 21 .382 13 7–10 6–11 7–9
5 e –New York Liberty 10 24 .294 16 4–13 6–11 3–13
6 e –Atlanta Dream 8 26 .235 18 5–12 3–14 3–13

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Candice Dupree WNBA All-Star Selection July 15, 2019 [9]
Erica Wheeler
Teaira McCowan WNBA All-Rookie Team September 16, 2019 [10]

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Source:[11]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kelsey Mitchell 34 20 25.1 38.7 37.4 83.6 1.6 2.6 0.4 0.1 13.6
Candice Dupree 34 34 30.7 47.2 0 83.9 5.0 2.5 0.4 0.6 11.6
Erica Wheeler 34 34 25.0 42.8 38.4 87.2 3.0 5.0 1.2 0.1 10.1
Teaira McCowan 34 16 22.1 51.7 0 68.7 9.0 0.2 0.6 1.3 10.0
Tiffany Mitchell 33 14 25.2 38.1 29.0 89.2 2.8 2.2 0.6 0.1 9.7
Natalie Achonwa 30 18 21.1 48.8 25.0 90.9 5.2 1.6 0.6 0.7 8.7
Betnijah Laney 34 27 25.8 36.2 30.3 58.1 4.2 1.7 1.4 0.1 5.6
Shenise Johnson 17 0 12.9 33.3 24.2 93.8 2.1 1.1 0.7 0.1 12.9
Kennedy Burke 31 7 13.6 38.5 35.0 70.5 1.5 0.7 0.6 0.3 4.4
Paris Kea 11 0 5.5 40.7 55.6 50.0 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.2 2.6
Stephanie Mavunga 24 0 8.5 51.1 0 70.6 2.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 2.5
Erica McCall 15 0 6.9 13.6 0 100 1.8 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.9

References

  1. ^ "Indiana Fever WNBA Basketball - Schedule". Fever.wnba.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "Pokey Chatman Will Not Return As Head Coach & General Manager". WNBA.com. WNBA. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Achonwa, Johnson and Wheeler Sign Free Agent Deals". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Fever re-sign Natalie Achonwa, Shenise Johnson and Erica Wheeler". espn.com. Associated Press. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  5. ^ "Fever Sign Betnijah Laney to Free Agent Contract". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Megdal, Howard (February 8, 2019). "Report: Indiana Fever set to sign Betnijah Laney". highposthoops.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Asia Taylor Signs Training Camp Contract to Return to Fever". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Fever Sign Crystal Bradford and Bria Goss to training camp contracts". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "Seven-Time Selection Charles, Dupree, Highlight Reserves For All-Star". wnba.com. WNBA. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "Rookie of the Year Collier Headlines 2019 All-Rookie Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  11. ^ "Team Stats". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved September 16, 2019.