Finally! Fever Knock Off Shock, Advance to First WNBA Finals

Tamika Catchings ripped the ball out of the air after Detroit's final miss, and Indiana's players jumped into each other's arms.

Finally, the Fever will play for a championship.

The Fever advanced to the WNBA Finals for the first time, beating the defending champion Shock 72-67 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"Finally!" Catchings said. "I've been waiting for this for eight years. I don't want to get too excited; I want to finish it off."

The Fever, who were eliminated by the Shock the last three seasons, open the finals on Tuesday against the Phoenix Mercury.

"They've gotten the best of us the last three years, and to come out here our fourth year and be able to step it up down the stretch We had a great time while we were doing it, and it just feels awesome," Catchings added.

The Fever and their Conseco Fieldhouse crowd, listed at 18,165 after Pacers president Larry Bird bought the entire balcony and gave the tickets away, roared at the finish.

"I thought we did a really, really good job tonight of battling," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "I knew it was going to be a war.

"Any time you can beat a team as fine as Detroit, you're thrilled to death. All my acknowledgment and praise goes to them, because they are very, very, very good."

Tammy Sutton-Brown led the Fever with 17 points. Katie Douglas scored 14, and Ebony Hoffman and Catchings added 10 apiece. Catchings also had eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Fever made their last 16 free throws, all in the fourth quarter.

"It was frustrating to see the Fever shoot all the free throws," Detroit's Alexis Hornbuckle said. "But we were the ones playing the defense, and we were the ones turning the ball over."

Deanna Nolan had 16 points for Detroit. Hornbuckle scored 15 before fouling out with 18 seconds to play. Cheryl Ford finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Hornbuckle drove the lane for a layup, trimming the deficit to 68-67 with 19 seconds left. Hornbuckle fouled Hoffman on the ensuing inbounds pass, and she swished both free throws for another three-point margin.

Nolan missed a three-pointer, and the ball went to the Fever after it was tipped out of bounds. Nolan fouled Douglas on the inbounds pass, and she swished both free throws for the final margin with 8.5 seconds left. Nolan missed a three-pointer and Catchings grabbed an emphatic rebound as time expired.

With Catchings guarding Nolan, the Shock missed four of their last five shots.

"We didn't seem focused and didn't get our shots at the end," Shock coach Rick Mahorn said. "Indiana played well. We needed to play defense with our feet, not our hands."

The Fever scored the last seven points of the first quarter and the first two of the second to build a 28-21 lead. But Nolan hit back-to-back three-pointers to fuel a 12-0 run by the Shock that put the visitors ahead 33-28 with six minutes to play in the period.

Indiana led 40-38 at intermission.

The only basket by either team over the first four minutes of the second half was a left-corner jumper by Nolan that tied the score at 40. The Shock outscored the Fever 12-9 in the third quarter to take a 50-49 lead.