Fever sneak by Liberty in clash of East's top teams

In a showdown for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty went to battle on Sunday afternoon. And the Fever came out on top, eventually beating the New York Liberty, 80-79. Tamika Catchings led the way for Indiana with 14 points and 7 rebounds.

The Fever came out hot, scoring a season-high in first half points with a 55-46 lead over New York. A solid offensive performance against the league's top defensive. However, the Liberty, the Eastern Conference leaders, weren't going down without a battle.

And a battle it was. With the third quarter winding down, New York started to pick up momentum, partly in thanks to a Tina Charles jump shot which lessened the Liberty deficit to 60-64. New York in turn carried great energy to start the fourth quarter.

However, New York wouldn't find its first lead of the game until less than 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, when Tanisha Wright's layup shifts the lead to the Liberty with a score of 67-65.

From there on out, the game was a back-and-forth thriller. The poise of the Fever's Shenise Johnson was a game changer for Indiana down the stretch. At one critical juncture, she nailed a pull-up jumper with the shot clock winding down, that made the score 80-79.

Down by one, the Liberty's Epiphanny Prince had the ball, with four seconds left on the clock, for the win, she pulls-up, shoots, but it was no good, and Indiana got the rebound to secure the game.

Despite a strong comeback in the fourth quarter by New York; the Fever won this ball game by one, 80-79. Indiana is now just one game out of first-place in the East. This is their third win over New York this season.