Time and again, Sky falls short against Indiana

Five seconds in time hurt the Sky.

But it was all the other times the Sky didn't get the job done in Sunday night's 70-64 loss to the Indiana Fever that probably hurt its cause just a tad more.

Down 66-64 with 18.4 seconds left, the Sky had the ball near half court and was in position to complete its electrifying, late fourth-quarter rally with another clutch basket.

The Sky, which rolled up 18 turnovers and couldn't buy a basket at times - shooting 33 percent from the field - had energized the crowd with its determination in erasing a 10-point deficit.

But as reserve guard Erin Thorn passed the ball in, she was whistled for a questionable five-second call. Indiana, under strong protest by Sky coach Steven Key as well as the 4,051 at Allstate Arena, regained the ball and played keepaway until the Sky fouled to stop the clock.

The Fever (9-5) , which won the Eastern Conference championship last year, sank 4 straight free throws over the next 13 seconds to close out the victory, its third over the Sky this season.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Sky (6-9).

"I was like, 'There was no way that was five seconds,' " Thorn said. "I felt like the whistle was blown after I had already thrown it. It's a questionable call, but it's not my call.

"It's also really not what lost us the game. We can't leave it to that point. We dug ourselves a hole and we can't keep having to fight out and fight out."

Thorn was a big reason the Sky had some fight down the stretch in the first place. She came off the bench and tossed in a team-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone.

"Last game, I was 0-for-6, but we won," Thorn said. "Yeah, I wasn't happy with my performance in that game, but the overall goal is to win the game. When you can't do it, no matter how gratifying it is with how you played (personally), the overall feeling is just a sick, ugh feeling. You want that victory."

Sky center Sylvia Fowles added 11 points and a season-high 17 rebounds to the bottom line. But besides Thorn, Fowles was the only other player in double figures for the Sky, which hit on just 19 of 57 shots from the field and couldn't capitalize on an equally frosty performance by Fever star forward Tamika Catchings.

Catchings, who led Stevenson High School to a state championship in 1995, had just 4 points on 1-of-9 shooting. She averages nearly 17 points per game.

The Fever was led by forward Ebony Hoffman, who scored 13 points. Guard Katie Douglas and reserve center Jessica Moore each added 10 points.