DeForge’s scoring leads Fever into conference finals against Sun

INDIANAPOLIS – Anna DeForge, not Tamika Catchings, was the Indiana Fever’s top scorer in its playoff series win against the Connecticut Sun.\nIn fact, DeForge leads the entire WNBA in playoff scoring. The shooting guard averaged 25 points against the Sun, a surprise from someone who averaged 8.7 points in the regular season. She hopes to continue her success against Detroit in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday in Indianapolis.\nDeForge was content with a secondary offensive role this season before Catchings, an early favorite for the MVP award, suffered a left foot injury that kept her out for a month. While Catchings healed, DeForge started looking to shoot. Even with Catchings back for the playoffs, DeForge put up a scoring spree that brought back memories of her college days at Nebraska.\n“I think it’s about opportunity, and it’s about aggression,” she said.\nDeForge always has been a capable scorer – she averaged 19 points a game as a college senior in 1997-98, and had the same average for her Polish League team this past season. When she came to the Fever last season in a trade with the Phoenix Mercury, she deferred to others because she knew her role wasn’t to be a primary scorer.\n“I think when you first come over here, you play off other people,” she said. “There’s people you’re supposed to read. Now, I’ve become a little more aggressive with the ball in my hands, and that’s led to some opportunities for myself and for my teammates.”\nDeForge isn’t just throwing up shots – she’s fourth among postseason players with a .571 field-goal percentage.\n“You’ve got to be smart about it still,” she said. “You’ve got to score in the context of the system, and I think that’s what we’re doing.”\nDeForge benefits from the fact that Catchings and Tamika Whitmore are scoring inside. Whitmore is averaging 20 points in a reserve role and Catchings is averaging 19.7 points in the playoffs.\n“You leave one of us open, somebody else is going to pick up the slack and knock it down,” DeForge said. “We hope to continue that ripple effect, with everybody being confident and playing well and making shots.”\nDeForge was such a force against Connecticut that the Sun put Katie Douglas, an all-defensive first-teamer, on her instead of Catchings in Game 3. Catchings took advantage with 30 points and 13 rebounds, and DeForge still scored 18 points after scoring 31 and 26 in the first two games.\nNow, Detroit must figure out how to handle DeForge – or hope she cools off.\n“With Anna shooting the ball well and playing well, it’s another dimension for our team,” Indiana coach Brian Winters said. “(Opponents) have to figure out how they’re going to match up and pay more attention to her. Any time you have a situation where another team has to be conscious of (a certain player), it creates bigger spaces for other people to do what they do.”\nDeForge is more concerned with wins than points. She’s never made it this far in the playoffs in her six WNBA seasons.\n“It doesn’t matter if I score 35, because I scored 31 (in Game 1 at Connecticut) and we lost,” she said. “I’ll take a win and two points versus a great shooting night and losing.”