Updated Jun 7, 2012 4:48 PM ET
The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun have gotten off to fast starts, but the Fever will have to see how they respond to their first loss when they host the Sun on Friday night.
At 4-1, Indiana and Connecticut are part of a three-way tie for the Eastern Conference lead, but the Fever will be looking to bounce back from a subpar effort in an 87-72 loss at New York on Sunday.
After beating the Liberty the previous night by 23 points, Indiana got off to a slow start in the rematch and trailed by double digits most of the way.
Tamika Catchings scored 19 points and Katie Douglas added 15, but the Fever finished with 22 turnovers and were outscored 24-14 in the first quarter.
"They came out really aggressive and we didn't handle the pressure well," Catchings said. "As we continue to build on becoming a better team, every game matters. We went through our runs, they went through their runs, but they were able to fight through it the whole game."
The 87 points were the most Indiana has allowed this season. The Fever entered the night giving up 71.5 points per game and had held their previous two opponents to fewer than 70, but they allowed the Liberty to go 9 of 19 from 3-point range.
Indiana is limiting opponents to 28.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The club may not have to worry about a repeat performance from long range Friday, as the Sun are shooting 26.9 percent (18 of 67) on 3s.
Connecticut bounced back from its first defeat with a 94-86 win over Washington on Sunday. Two nights earlier, the Sun fell 85-72 to Minnesota after shooting 32.5 percent.
Tina Charles finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and four assists against the Mystics after being held scoreless in the fourth quarter by the Lynx.
"I definitely wasn't happy with (last Friday's performance)," said Charles, second in the WNBA with 22.4 points per game. "I know my role on this team. I know my team looks to me offensively and defensively, so I'm just going out there and playing hard."
Connecticut and Indiana are second and third in the league in scoring at 83.8 and 83.2 points a contest. However, at 80.0 points allowed, the Sun are giving up nearly six more per game than the Fever.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this month. The Fever won three of five last year, including both home games.
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