Sun rally for big road win at Indiana

Indianapolis - Kara Lawson scored 18 points and had seven rebounds to help the Connecticut Sun beat Indiana 89-81 on Friday night.

The Sun (5-1) are off to their best start since 2008 and lead the WNBA's Eastern Conference.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Sun, including Tina Charles (12 points, a team-high 14 rebounds) who had her 49th career double-double, one shy of tying the franchise record.

It was the Sun's first win in Indiana since July 14, 2010.

Trailing 79-78, Connecticut outscored Indiana 11-2 in the final two minutes, 52 seconds. The Sun converted seven of eight free throws during that pivotal stretch.

"First off, road wins are hard to come by," Lawson said. We sustained their run in the fourth quarter and kept our turnovers down. We kept our composure which allowed us to win."

WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings missed part of the third quarter after she was accidentally elbowed in the face by Fever teammate Tammy Sutton-Brown.

Catchings left the game with 6:58 left in the third quarter and returned at the 3:38 mark of the quarter.

The Sun went on an 8-0 run with Catchings out.

"I don't think there was any doubt that that knocked us back," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "When you've got your franchise player basically carried out ... I think that shook us a little bit. Yeah, that was a factor."

Catchings finished with a season-high 31 points for the Fever (4-2).

Asjha Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Sun.

Connecticut's bench players made a key contribution. Tan White scored her first points of the season, finishing with 10.

Mistie Mims scored 12 points on 6-for-6 from the field and Renee Montgomery added 12, including seven in the final three minutes.

"We did a good job on (Tina) Charles and (Asjha) Jones," Indiana's Katie Douglas said. "But, their supporting cast made big plays. We didn't finish and they stepped up and played really well."

Connecticut plays at home on Sunday, hosting defending Eastern Conference champion Atlanta at 5 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.