Shavonte Zellous’ buzzer-beater lifts Fever over Sun

Indianapolis, IN, United States (4E Sports) – Shavonte Zellous buried a buzzer-beating 16-foot jumper to lift the Indiana Fever to a 78-76 win over the Connecticut Sun Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, forcing a winner-take-all match for a spot in the WNBA Finals.

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be played in Connecticut Thursday with the winner taking on defending champion Minnesota Lynx for the WNBA title. The Lynx swept the Los Angeles Sparks in the West finals.

Zellous scored just four points but she made the biggest shot in the game to give the Fever a 3-0 record in elimination games this season.

“I thought it was a great TV game,” said Fever Coach Lin Dunn. “I’m sure everybody that tuned in got their money’s worth.”

Katie Douglas led the Fever with scored 24 points, including seven of the team’s last 11 points in the game while Tamika Catchings added 21 markers.

“My mentality is just to attack. I’m trying to toy with the defense. I had the ball in my hands a lot at the top,” said Douglas. “They were playing me so many different ways. I’ve learned over the years my power is to that (pick and roll) and every player wants to get back to their strong hand.”

Kara Lawson paced the Sun with 18 points, Asjha Jones contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds while reigning league MVP Tina Charles had 15 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort.

The Fever launched a 7-0 attack to grab a 63-57 advantage with less than eight minutes left in the game before Renee Montgomery’s two triples sparked a 15-4 blast that gave the Sun a 72-67 advantage.

Then Douglas took over, scoring seven straight markers to give the Fever a 74-72 lead before Charles tied the count with two foul shots.

Catchings made a layup with 21.3 seconds but Allison Hightower tied the count anew with a runner before Zellous buried the game-winning shot.

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