Indiana

NY Liberty vs. Indiana Fever preview: Home Opener!

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2024

NY Liberty vs. Indiana Fever preview: Home Opener!

That’s a good bit of business. The New York Liberty were the guests for the Indiana Fever’s much anticipated home opener on Thursday evening. The Liberty were unhospitable as they went wire-to-wire and won by 36 points. They are now 2-0 on the WNBA season.

Where to follow the game

ABC is the place to be. Brunch and basketball so we getting started at 1 PM.

Injuries

All clear for both teams.

The game

Sometimes, a box score tells you everything you need to know. And in Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s case, that +43 in the box score lets you know how awesome she was on Thursday. Bee had the primary assignment on Caitlin Clark and shut the future All Star down. Clark couldn’t find her rhythm and only went 2-8 from the field and put up a 9/7/6 line. It was a total team effort and we got to see the chemistry and continuity of this experienced Liberty squad

For Clark, it’s a matter of continuing to adapt to the physicality of the W and the craftiness/intelligence of the defenders that are assigned to her. For the Liberty, they’ll continue to throw different looks at Clark and bump her off of her spot as much as possible. Look for Laney-Hamilton, Kayla Thornton, and a sea of seafoam to chase Clark around. For all the criticism the Liberty perimeter defense gets, they were still a terrific defensive team and communicate incredibly well with one another.

We’ve got a basketball doubleheader this weekend! The Liberty and Fever complete their two game mini-series, and tomorrow, a full series will end. Over at MSG, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will do battle in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Basketball in NY is undefeated and hoops fans of all stripes will be well fed today and tomorrow.

Going into Thursday’s game, I was thinking Breanna Stewart needed some time to shake off some rust from not playing overseas and having a longer (but well deserved!) break from basketball. Shows what I know. Stew York looked like her MVP self on Thursday night and cooked the Fever to the tune of 31/10/4/3/2 in only 29 minutes. What helped Stewart immensely was her getting the majority of her shots by the rim and on the move. The Liberty are such a tremendously disciplined team and everyone on the court knows how to create the best shot possible for their teammate.

Paint touches are always what you want. You’re closer to the rim and have a higher chance of drawing fouls as compared to being out on the perimeter. It’s been an early point of emphasis for Sabrina Ionescu, and it’s been paying off for her. Sab went 3-3 from the restricted area and if she’s able to continue getting to the rim like this, she can become an even better offensive player. And in case you thought she was short,

Lol, @GeoffJMags asked Sandy Brondello what she makes of her “smaller players” attacking the paint thus far.
Sabrina Ionescu lets her respond, then says “I’m 5’11”, Geoff.”
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— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) May 17, 2024

That’s right!

Player to watch: Aliyah Boston

Me personally, I love when there’s a little animosity on the hardwood! The games are intense and everyone’s doing their best to win. And when you’ve got people at the top of their profession trying to win, it’s gonna get chippy every so often. We saw that on Thursday night as Boston and Jonquel Jones got into a little back-and-forth in the first quarter:

Sometimes you gotta let em know! For Boston, she’s looking to put her first good game of the season after rough outings on Thursday and against the Connecticut Sun. For the Fever to be what they need to be, they’re going to need a LOT more from their star center.

JJ only went 4-11 from the field, but she proved to be a force on both sides of the ball. She picked up three blocks, grabbed ten rebounds, and made life hell on every Fever big that suited up. You need that interior presence to really go places and if opponents can’t have any luck at the basket with JJ patrolling the paint, it gives everyone else on the team more room to exert their wills on defense. With Jones back looking better than ever, it makes a great Liberty team just a touch greater.

From the Vault

Home openers are always a good time, and last year at the ‘clays was no exception.

More reading: Indiana Fever Blog, Swish Appeal, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next

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Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

Published

6 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

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Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Police have arrested someone in connection to a homicide earlier this month in the Hamilton County city.

In a Friday night social media post, the Westfield Police Department announced the arrest but gave no details, including who was arrested or what preliminary charges the person may face.

“Due to the active nature of this case, limited details are available for release at this time,” the post said.

As WISHTV.com previously reported, James “Matt” Lushin, 47, was found dead shortly after 7:25 p.m. March 12 with trauma at his home in the 3900 block of Westfield Road, also known as State Road 32.

Social media posts from the scene showed police tape and emergency vehicles at a red brick house between Shady Nook Road and Gray Road.

Lushin’s obituary said the Kokomo native was a key partner with the real estate investment company, FLF Property. The obituary also said, “Matt was also a respected and accomplished member of the international poker community. He traveled the world competing in tournaments and built an impressive and successful career.”

Police have previously said the death was believed to be isolated, posing no ongoing threat.

Officials have not released a specific cause or manner of death.

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Published

12 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Just three days before Selection Sunday in March of 2020, the NCAA announced that March Madness, like so many other events that spring, would be cancelled due to the new virus upending life. The decision marked the first time in tournament history that the final weeks of the college basketball season would not be played, squashing Atlanta’s plans to host the Final Four.

When the following year rolled around, the NCAA decided that March Madness would not succumb to the virus once more.

With a vaccine only on the horizon and hundreds of Americans still dying each day, the organization announced in November of 2020 that while the tournament would go on, it would certainly not be business as usual. All 67 games, NCAA officials said, would be held in one location. Central Indiana was the first choice as Indianapolis had been on tap to host the Final Four April 3-5.

The plan, said NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt in a November 2020 IndyStar article was to present “a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

In January the NCAA made it official: All games would be played in and around Indianapolis in a modified version of a bubble.

Holding the tournament in one place just made sense, NCAA officials told IndyStar. Unlike in a typical year when a winning team would travel multiple times before the championship, this system would minimize travel, which could inadvertently expose players and coaches to the virus.

Two months later when the tournament kicked off on March 18, 55 of the 67 games were scheduled to be played in Indianapolis venues, such as Gainbridge (then Bankers Life) Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Purdue’s Mackey Arena and IU’s Assembly Hall also hosted games.

While the first Covid vaccine had arrived a few months earlier, few people outside of first responders and the most vulnerable had been immunized, so in an effort to avoid large crowds, the Indianapolis sites all capped tickets at 25% capacity. That meant only 17,500 people could attend games at the largest venue, Lucas Oil Stadium. The college arenas allowed far smaller audiences, with IU limiting attendance to 500 people.

A week before the tournament began Marion County Public Health Department officials and Mayor Joe Hogsett asked attendees to make smart public health choices, such as social distancing and obeying the face masks mandate. Referees donned masks as much as possible as did coaches and players on the bench.

The NCAA regularly tested athletes, administering 28,311 tests Covid tests during the tournament, 15 of which came back positive.

Post-mortems after the tournament asked whether the NCAA had made the right call. Two high profile deaths occurred in the aftermath of the tournament — one a University of Alabama superfan who had traveled to Indy for the games and the other a St. Elmo bartender. But proving a direct link between their deaths and the tournament would prove impossible, and some public health experts said the NCAA had done everything it could to protect athletes and fans short of canceling the event.

A study conducted by IU, Regenstrief researchers and others that appeared in August 2021 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that while mask wearing had theoretically been compulsory, about a quarter of attendees at the games were either not wearing masks or doing so inappropriately. Still, in an IndyStar article about the study Indiana Sports Corps president Ryan Vaughn termed the event “a resounding success.”

The following year, with a vaccine widely available and far fewer daily deaths from the virus, the tournament returned to a typical schedule, concluding in New Orleans’ Ceasars Superdome. More than 69,00 fans attended the final games, according to the NCAA. Local authorities had lifted the mask requirement by this point.

“Last year was about survival. Just having championships in any way, single site, keep everybody safe and be successful,” Gavitt said in an NCAA news release in late April 2022. “I think this year was about advancing.”

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Greg Casar, D-Texas, say the bill would protect taxpayers from being extorted by team owners for huge subsidies. The legislation would likely face an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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