WNBA Finals pushed to decisive Game 5 for 4th time in history

Indianapolis, IN -- For just the fourth time in franchise history, the WNBA Finals will go to a decisive Game 5.

The Indiana Fever pulled out a 75-69 win to even the series at two games each Sunday night in Indianapolis. Game 5 will be played Wednesday in Minnesota.

The previous Game 5s have come in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

All of the players and coaches, regardless of if they were on the winning or losing side of Sunday's game, agreed this series has been important for the WNBA.

"It's a great series for the WNBA, it's great for women's basketball, it's great that it's on TV, it's great that there's so many people locked in—that this is their first WNBA game, or this is their first time being interested in women's basketball," Indiana's Tamika Catchings said.

"But basketball is basketball. You can't deny the great competition on both sides. You can't deny the great players, the great plays that have been made on both sides of the ball," Catchings continued. "It's only fitting that we go to Game 5, and we're going to Minnesota, we know the place is going to be loud, but that's what you play for."

Catchings has been trying to emphasize the opportunity to her younger teammates who weren't a part of the 2012 championship squad.

"We have a lot of first-timers, it's their first championships or their first trip to the Finals," Catchings said. "I've talked to them a lot like, look this opportunity does not happen often. We have been very blessed as an organization to be able to make the playoffs 11-years straight, making into the Finals ... we've only been there three times.

"So this doesn't happen every single year and every game you've got to take advantage of your next opportunity."

Though Maya Moore wasn't stoked to see a Game 5 as a player in the series, she admitted the same thing.

"There's a lot of great things happening, players making plays," Moore said. "Sometimes you can have all the schemes and sets in the world, but it comes down to players making plays, and you've seen a lot of that in this series.

"Definitely not pleased with the way we executed our game plan today, but without question if I was to say where do I want to finish my season, it would be at the Target Center," Moore continued. That's going to be a great opportunity for us and our fans to really be who we've been all season. That's the beauty of it; we don't have to be anything more than who we are.

"We just need to be ourselves at home, and we have a really good chance if we do that."