Monarchs can't shake Fever as Hoffman stars

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana forward Ebony Hoffman had career highs with 23 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday night and the Fever rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Monarchs 78-73. She also tied a career high with four steals.

She's averaging 8.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

"Night in and night out, she's a warrior for us," said Fever guard Katie Douglas. "She's been playing very well when a lot of us haven't. Tonight, she stepped up with another huge performance."

Douglas finished with 20 points for the Fever (7-6) after starting 0 of 6 from the field.

Ticha Penicheiro had 15 points and Kara Lawson chipped in 12 for Sacramento (6-7), which lost its sixth consecutive game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"This was a shame," said Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek. "It hurt us a lot and it was frustrating."

Sacramento shot 61 percent in the first quarter and Scholanda Robinson's 3-pointer gave the Monarchs a 31-16 advantage to end the period. They led by 18 early in the second quarter and 47-36 at the half.

The Fever used a 7-0 run midway through the third quarter to cut the deficit to 50-48, and closed to 58-57 on Tamika Catchings' two free throws. Sacramento shot 1 of 12 from the field in the period.

Indiana tied it at 60 on Hoffman's jumper early in the fourth quarter, and Allison Feaster's 3-pointer gave the Fever its first advantage since leading 8-6. Indiana opened a 72-64 edge on Catchings' jumper with 2 minutes left.

Sacramento shot 37 percent for the game and made only seven field goals in the second half.

OTHER GAMES -- Tina Thompson hit a 13-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds left to lift Houston to an 82-81 win over host San Antonio. ... Candace Parker dunked for the second consecutive game and had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to lead host Los Angeles over Seattle 76-62. She dunked with her right hand with 57 seconds left after making a steal and dribbling the length of the court. ... Asjha Jones scored 20 points and rookie Amber Holt had a career-high 19 as host Connecticut moved ahead of Detroit into first place in the Eastern Conference with an 85-68 win. ... Diana Taurasi scored 31 and Cappie Pondexter added 28 as visiting Phoenix halted Washington's winning streak at three with a 98-90 win. ... Seimone Augustus scored 21 as host Minnesota beat New York 91-69, ending a five-game losing skid.