Tamika Catchings helps defeat Sky and pays tribute to Pat Summitt
With every made shot, and there were a lot of them, Tamika Catchings pointed her finger into the air.
It wasn't tough to figure out what that meant.
Catchings was saying "hi" to her beloved former coach with a little, "This one's for you, Pat Summitt."
On Tuesday, Summitt, the legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach whose 1,098 career wins are the most in Division I history, men's or women's, died at the age of 64 after a five-year battle with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.
Catchings, who grew up in the suburbs and won a state championship at Stevenson in 1995, played for Summitt at Tennessee and won a national championship there in 1998. The two were especially close, with Catchings calling Summitt a minimum of once a week from the moment she left Tennessee to the final days of Summitt's life.
On Wednesday, with a heavy heart and her thoughts clearly elsewhere, Catchings scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Indiana Fever to a 95-83 victory over the Chicago Sky at Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Catchings was 7-of-11 from the field, and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. From her first made shot to her last, Catchings saluted Summitt.
"Pat has been one of the most influential people in my life," Catchings said. "The type of relationship we had, we went through it all, the highs and the lows. You always try to think about the positive moments that you had, you try to think about all the good times.
"You think about all the great things she's done for me, for the game of women's basketball. She's just impacted so many people."
Catchings was a four-time all-American at Tennessee and finished her college career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She earned a 4.0 grade-point average in her final semester, a feat that didn't happen by accident. She credits Summitt for always keeping her on her toes, always expecting her to do her best.
"You leave home and you go to college thinking you're getting away from your mom and your parents and (Summitt) was very much like a mother, very much on it with everything," Catchings said. "It was like, 'Ok, here's what you're going to do and you've got this, and you've got that, and you've got curfew,' and all that. She knew where we were all the time, like your mom does. We'd be like, 'I wasn't there,' and she'd say, 'Yes you were, I've got eyes everywhere.' She was always looking after us.
"She was very stern, very stern in her standards. She wanted us to have fun, but she wanted us to have the right kind of fun. She was very conscious of that."
Summitt was also very conscious about growing the game of women's basketball, which is why she was considered the greatest ambassador the game has had.
What Summitt was as a coach, Catchings has been as a player. Catchings has been known for her graciousness with the media and her genuine interactions with fans, which was on display after the game at Allstate Arena.
On top of all the emotion of the day regarding Summitt, Catchings was also dealing with the reality of playing in her final regular season game in Chicago. After 16 years, Catchings will be retiring at the end of this season. She created a "Legacy Tour," to highlight the final regular-season game she plays in each WNBA city. In classic Catchings style, she has turned each of those games on the "Legacy Tour" into a tribute to the fans. After each game, she conducts a personal meet-and-greet with fans, and signs autographs and takes pictures. There is also an auction of various Catchings memorabilia. And Catchings donates $2,000 to a charity in each city.
"I've been blessed to be kind of like a trailblazer, just like Pat was," Catchings said. "With the Indiana Fever, I got there right after the team started, so when a lot of people think about the Indiana Fever, they think about me, and there's a lot you can do with that.
"It's always been important to me to support everyone in this game, and to make sure our game grows. With all of us banded together and getting younger girls into it, that's how we grow this league. That's the legacy I want to leave, just showing other players, 'Hey, this is how we have to be (with the fans and the media) to continue to grow our league."
Catchings was one of four Fever players to score in double-figures against the Sky. Erlana Larkins was a beast inside with 15 points and 9 rebounds while guards Briann January and Erica Wheeler added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Forward Elena Delle Donne finished with a team-high 21 points for the Sky, which was out-rebounded 34-24 and never held a lead.
• Follow Patricia on Twitter @babcockmcgraw. You can contact her via email at pbabcock@dailyherald.com.