The midsummer break helped everyone on the Indiana Fever. That goes for Tamika Catchings, too, and she wasn't even here.
While the Fever were laboring in Indianapolis, Catchings was winning a third Olympic gold medal in London. She was also noticing how talented individuals could play if they did so together -- something that doesn't apply only to Olympians.
"I did a lot of comparisons," Catchings said of a team meeting two weeks ago. "If everybody does their job on this team, we can be a really good team and have a really good shot at winning a championship."
The Fever continued crisp post-Olympics play Tuesday night, shooting 54 percent and pulling away to an 83-68 victory over the last-place Washington Mystics at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Fever (15-8) climbed to 5-1 since the break and stayed 21/2 games behind first-place Connecticut (18-6) in the WNBA's Eastern Conference. The Fever play Thursday at New York and home Saturday against Chicago.
Katie Douglas scored 18 points and Catchings 17, all in the first three quarters. Jessica Davenport added 16 in her biggest output since June 16.
Noelle Quinn came off the bench to score 13 for the Mystics (5-19). Center Crystal Langhorne was limited to six, 10 under her average.
Douglas was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and is shooting 56 percent from the arc (19-of-34) over five games. With 56, she is on track to exceed Catchings' club record of 76 3s in a season. Starting the break with 10 days off re-energized Douglas.
"I tend to do really well coming off of rest because it's very rare that I get it," said Douglas, who has played in Europe in the WNBA offseason throughout her 12-year pro career.
When they did practice, the Fever "worked our butts off," guard Erin Phillips said. The Fever treated the time as a second training camp, focusing on themselves rather than any opponents.
The Fever came out clunky after the 2008 Olympic break, losing by 26 and 22 points in two of their first four games. Dunn was asked why the Fever benefited more than other teams this time.
"I don't know what they did. Maybe they did too much yoga," Dunn replied.
As usual, the Fever had too much firepower. They are on pace to break the league record for 3s in a season, and they made 10-of-17.
They feature an unconventional lineup in which four 3-point shooters -- Douglas, Catchings, Shavonte Zellous and Briann January -- surround a center.
"We've got a lot of confidence," said Phillips, who leads the WNBA in 3-point percentage (.500). "We're getting in good positions and creating things for each other to be able to shoot the ball well."
The Mystics shot 62.5 percent in the first half but trailed 43-37. They declined to 31.8 percent in the second half, falling behind by 14 points midway through the third quarter.
Etc.
The announced crowd was 6,525, although actual attendance was about half that figure. . . . Zellous had 13 points and four assists on her 26th birthday. . . . Former Atlanta star Iziane Castro Marques, signed by Washington as a free agent Saturday, played her first game of the season and scored two late baskets. . . . Erlana Larkins had a career-high four steals, tying the most by a Fever player this season.
Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195.
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