Fever continue months-long slide, take what they can get in overtime loss

The Fever’s Saturday night game in Dallas summed up Indiana’s season reasonably well: the Fever’s youthful core provided both a spark and a possible glimpse into the future. Lexie Hull, fresh off of a career-high 14 points at Atlanta, was the catalyst for Indiana’s fast offensive start and scored 17. At the end of the game, Destanni Henderson took and made two of the biggest shots of the game, tying the score twice in the final minute of regulation.

And, of course, there were the rookie mistakes, the reasons this year has been so forgettable even if brighter days are possibly ahead. Hull was limited in the second half with foul trouble. So were fellow rookies NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo. All finished with five, contributing to the Wings’ 45 free throw attempts. It was the most any team has shot in a WNBA game this season. Down by as many as 20 points, Dallas crawled back into the game and eventually took the lead in the regulation.

Egbo picked up a technical arguing one of her fouls. Indiana’s disjointed offense on the final possession of overtime, in which there appeared to be a miscommunication on the floor, doomed any chance of a comeback in the waning moments of the 95-91 loss. It left the Fever accepting moral victories in the months-long absence of tangible ones.

More Fever:'It's like, when is your Cinderella moment coming?' Fever handling taxing losing streak

Fever forward NaLyssa Smith seeks consistency as rookie season winds down

It was different from many Fever games. The 4-point margin of defeat was their lowest since June 12, a week before their 16-game losing streak started. It led to the Fever’s rookies to getting one of their first tastes of a competitive finish as professionals. And maybe most encouraging for the Indiana, relatively speaking for a team that hasn't won in almost seven weeks, is that the Fever maintained its collective composure throughout the contest.

Leading Minnesota on July 15, Indiana allowed the Lynx to go on a 15-0 run in the third quarter and never recovered. On Saturday, the Wings erased the deficit, but the Fever didn't wilt after giving up the lead. They stayed competitive, tied the game in the final minute and scrapped until the buzzer.

"I'll tell you what: I love my team. I do," interim coach Carlos Knox said. "I really love my team because (of) the resilience that they show. How they came out and approached this game today, our practice was outstanding yesterday and we came in with a focused mindset. And I can't say that too many teams in our position would continue to fight and hold that type of position, so I'm very proud of our young ladies tonight."

Injuries to Kelsey Mitchell, Tiffany Mitchell and Danielle Robinson, combined with the foul issues, had the Fever running on fumes at the end of the game. It led to an unusual decision at the end of regulation. Down 3 points with less than a minute to go, Knox knew he wanted to get something going toward the basket. The one called upon to take the shot? Henderson.

The rookie point guard's playing time has benefitted from the recent injuries, but she had still played single-digit minutes in five of the Fever's past 10 games entering Saturday.

Coming out of a timeout, she slashed toward the basket and finished for an and-one. After the Wings scored on the next possession, she drove to the basket again and finished with her right hand to tie the score with 24 seconds left.

"I always keep my composure," she said. "Just play the game of basketball at the end of the day. Obviously it's crucial moments where we do need buckets, so just not to try to get ahead of myself."

A 23-year-old months out of college isn't a traditional choice choice in crunch time, but the Fever don't have a traditional roster. Henderson gained the experience of being the go-to scorer down the stretch of a tight WNBA game Saturday. The other rookies got experience in one of the most competitive situations they've seen since college. It's not much, but in a season almost devoid of wins, it's something.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever drop overtime game to Dallas despite Henderson, Hull