INDIANAPOLIS -- Shenise Johnson had 16 points and seven assists to lead a balanced Indiana offense and the Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 97-93 on Wednesday night.
Indiana was up 95-86 with 1:49 remaining but Diana Taurasi's four-point play capped Phoenix's 7-0 run to pull to 95-93 with 44 seconds left. After an Indiana miss, Phoenix nearly turned it over on the other end but regained possession with 15.2 seconds left. Taurasi missed an open layup and Marissa Coleman made two free throws with 9 seconds left to seal it.
Erica Wheeler and Devereaux Peters each scored 16 points for Indiana (1-1), which had seven players score in double figures. Erlana Larkins had 11 points and 10 rebound for the Fever, who are ranked No. 5 in the AP WNBA power poll.
Phoenix went on a 13-2 run, with 3-pointers by Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner, to take a 71-62 lead. But Indiana's 10-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter gave the Fever an 87-80 lead on Tiffany Mitchell's putback.
Taurasi made 5 of 11 3-pointers and scored 32 points with seven rebounds and five assists for Phoenix (0-2). Bonner finished 3 of 4 from 3-point range and scored 21 points for the second-ranked Mercury.
The Mercury allowed seven Fever players to reach double figures after opening the season with a 95-76 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
"We gave them easy baskets, too many points in the paint. We can't allow teams to score 97 points. I know that much," coach Sandy Brondello said. "We didn't do the job we needed to do to keep them in front of us, the team defense that we're usually known for. There were too many high-percentage shots."
The Mercury allowed seven Fever players to reach double figures after opening the season with a 95-76 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
"We gave them easy baskets, too many points in the paint. We can't allow teams to score 97 points. I know that much," coach Sandy Brondello said. "We didn't do the job we needed to do to keep them in front of us, the team defense that we're usually known for. There were too many high-percentage shots."
The Mercury allowed seven Fever players to reach double figures after opening the season with a 95-76 loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
"We gave them easy baskets, too many points in the paint. We can't allow teams to score 97 points. I know that much," coach Sandy Brondello said. "We didn't do the job we needed to do to keep them in front of us, the team defense that we're usually known for. There were too many high-percentage shots."
