Catchings, Fever too much for Moore, Liberty

Tamika Catchings won the scoring battle between former Tennessee Lady Vols, and Indiana won a big WNBA game Sunday.

Catchings, a former UT All-American scored 18 points and Tamika Whitmore had 15 to lead the Fever to a 74-63 victory over the New York Liberty on Sunday in New York.

Tammy Sutton-Brown added 11 points and Anna DeForge 10 points to help the Fever (10-3) pull within a half-game of first-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference.

Ex-Lady Vol Loree Moore scored 17 points for New York. Cathrine Kraayeveld and Janel McCarville added 13 apiece, and Lisa Willis had 12 for New York (7-6). The Liberty lost for the sixth time in eight games after a franchise-best 5-0 start.

Indiana opened the game with a 10-0 run and never trailed.

We came out in the beginning of the game and stuck to our game plan and attacked the basket, Catchings said.

The Liberty pulled within 63-57 with 32 minutes left but couldnt get closer.

We looked very timid to begin the game, which allowed them to get us in a hole, Moore said. We were not getting in our offensive set and that allowed them to get after us and get easy steals. In the first half we lacked aggressiveness.

Mercury 90, Comets 85: Penny Taylor scored 13 of her season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead short-handed Phoenix.

Phoenix (8-7) was without the injured Cappie Pondexter and the suspended Diana Taurasi, who combine to average 37.3 points per game.

Storm 83, Sparks 71: Los Angeles fell at home despite getting 15 points from ex-Lady Vol Sidney Spencer, who was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers.

Lauren Jackson scored 35 for Seattle.