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]
The Fever made three selections in the 2019 WNBA draft , which was held on April 10:
Trades and roster changes
edit
2019 Indiana Fever roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
Yrs
F
11
Achonwa, Natalie
6' 3" (1.91m)
190 lb (86kg)
11-22-1992
Notre Dame
4
G
25
Burke, Kennedy
6' 1" (1.85m)
182 lb (83kg)
08-16-1997
UCLA
R
F
4
Dupree, Candice
6' 2" (1.88m)
178 lb (81kg)
02-25-1984
Temple
13
G
42
Johnson, Shenise
5' 11" (1.8m)
172 lb (78kg)
12-09-1990
Miami (FL)
6
G
7
Kea, Paris
5' 9" (1.75m)
142 lb (64kg)
04-07-1996
North Carolina
R
G
44
Laney, Betnijah
6' 0" (1.83m)
160 lb (73kg)
10-29-1993
Rutgers
3
F
23
Mavunga, Stephanie
6' 3" (1.91m)
205 lb (93kg)
02-24-1995
Ohio State
1
F
22
McCall, Erica
6' 2" (1.88m)
184 lb (83kg)
08-21-1995
Stanford
2
C
15
McCowan, Teaira
6' 7" (2.01m)
239 lb (108kg)
09-28-1996
Mississippi State
R
G
3
Mitchell, Tiffany
5' 9" (1.75m)
152 lb (69kg)
09-23-1994
South Carolina
4
G
0
Mitchell, Kelsey
5' 11" (1.8m)
151 lb (68kg)
11-12-1995
Ohio State
1
G
35
Vivians, Victoria
6' 1" (1.85m)
183 lb (83kg)
11-17-1994
Mississippi State
1
G
17
Wheeler, Erica
5' 7" (1.7m)
143 lb (65kg)
05-02-1991
Rutgers
4
Head coach
Pokey Chatman (LSU )
Assistant coaches
Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech )
Athletic trainer
Todd Champlin (Daemen )
Strength and conditioning coach
Chase Campbell (Ball State )
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
2019 game log Total: 13–21 (Home: 7–10 Road: 6–11)
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 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)
August
: 4–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 1–3)
September
: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
2019 season schedule
^ "Indiana Fever WNBA Basketball - Schedule" . Fever.wnba.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ "Pokey Chatman Will Not Return As Head Coach & General Manager" . WNBA.com . WNBA. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019 .
^ a b c "Achonwa, Johnson and Wheeler Sign Free Agent Deals" . fever.wnba.com . WNBA. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ a b c "Fever re-sign Natalie Achonwa, Shenise Johnson and Erica Wheeler" . espn.com . Associated Press. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ "Fever Sign Betnijah Laney to Free Agent Contract" . fever.wnba.com . WNBA. February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ Megdal, Howard (February 8, 2019). "Report: Indiana Fever set to sign Betnijah Laney" . highposthoops.com . Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ "Asia Taylor Signs Training Camp Contract to Return to Fever" . fever.wnba.com . WNBA. February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019 .
^ a b "Fever Sign Crystal Bradford and Bria Goss to training camp contracts" . fever.wnba.com . WNBA. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
^ "Seven-Time Selection Charles, Dupree, Highlight Reserves For All-Star" . wnba.com . WNBA. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
^ "Rookie of the Year Collier Headlines 2019 All-Rookie Team" . wnba.com . WNBA. September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019 .
^ "Team Stats" . dream.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved September 16, 2019 .