Fever hope to get back on track vs. Stars (Jul 11, 2017)

The Indiana Fever will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they host the San Antonio Stars on Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Indiana (7-9) has not dropped three games in a row this season and needs to string together a few wins to climb back into the playoff picture. The Fever are 5-3 at home despite back-to-back losses in front of their fans.

On paper, a home matchup against San Antonio (1-16) appears to be favorable for the Fever. The Stars lost their first 14 games of the season before finally knocking off the Chicago Sky on June 30.

Since that victory, San Antonio has lost two games by a combined margin of 48 points. The Stars are 0-8 on the road, but five of those defeats came by single digits.

Fever forward Candice Dupree said the Stars' record was not indicative of their talent level.

"If anything, those are the teams you have to watch out for because they have nothing to lose," Dupree said in an interview with the Fever's official website. "They're going to come out playing extremely hard. We have to be able to match their energy and intensity."

Dupree leads Indiana in scoring with 14.8 points per game. Also averaging double-digits scoring for the Fever are Erica Wheeler (11.5 points), Shenise Johnson (11.3 points) and Tiffany Mitchell (10.8 points).

San Antonio is led in scoring by guard Kayla McBride, who is averaging 15.5 points. Fellow guard Moriah Jefferson is next at 10.8 points per game. Last season, Jefferson notched career highs in points (31) and steals (five) against the Fever.

McBride said she and her teammates were attempting to stay positive during a trying season.

"That's what you get with a young team," McBride told the Stars' official website. "That's what you get with this year of rebuilding, I guess you could say. I think we're still building our foundation. It's a process.

"It's tough because as a fourth-year player, you don't want to go through the process anymore -- you want to win. But I trust (general manager Ruth Riley), I trust (head coach Vickie Johnson) and what they're doing. This is my home, and I'll do anything to make sure we're on top again."

For Indiana, 6-foot-7 center Jennifer Hamson could make her team debut after signing a seven-day contract on Sunday. Hamson was a two-sport star (basketball, volleyball) at Brigham Young University, and she appeared in 25 games as a rookie with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2015. She played professionally in Russia last season.

San Antonio also made a personnel move heading into Wednesday's contest as it announced a contract agreement with guard Sequoia Holmes for the remainder of the season. Holmes appeared in 10 games with the team earlier this season before she was waived on June 28. She averaged 2.9 points, one rebound and 1.3 assists in her first stint.

The teams meet Wednesday for the first of three contests this season. Last year, Indiana won the season series 2-1.