PHOENIX — The Indiana Fever began with a question: Will there be a next year?

They ended with another question: Will there be a championship next year?

Although owner Herb Simon has not made a formal announcement, all signs point to the Fever returning for an 11th year in 2010. If they do, they will be genuine contenders.

“We’ll regroup. We’ll be better,” forward Ebony Hoffman asserted. “I have a feeling we’ll be back here next year.”

The Phoenix Mercury won the WNBA championship for the second time in three years, beating the Fever 94-86 Friday night at the US Airways Center. The Mercury won the best-of-five WNBA Finals 3-2.

The Fever feature veterans still in their prime — Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas are 30 and Tammy Sutton-Brown 31 — along with rising stars such as Ebony Hoffman, 27, and Briann January, 22.

Jessica Davenport, 24, was a revelation in the Finals, coming off the bench to score a career-high 18 points in Game 5.

General manager Kelly Krauskopf has assembled not only players she wanted, but people she wanted.

“To me, if you describe our team, we’re very strong-willed,” Krauskopf said. “This is a group that’s about personality as much as talent.”

Tully Bevilaqua, 37, has another year on her contract and will remain influential, albeit as a backup point guard behind January. That is exactly why the Fever should stay in the mix — a mix of experience and youth.

“Next time we’re in this situation, it will be a different outcome, for sure,” January said.

WNBA players are together only four or five months before dispersing for overseas leagues, leaving little time to create chemistry. But by 2010, the Fever’s core group will start a third year intact.

This finish was deflating for Douglas, who averaged a career-high 17.6 points during the season and was third in MVP voting behind the Mercury’s Diana Taurasi and Catchings. But Douglas, after scoring 30 points in Game 1, was a collective 2-of-16 on 3-pointers in Games 4 and 5.

Teammates rallied behind her afterward and said they would go to her every time she’s open.

“I love this team. It’s been the most enjoyable team to be around all summer long,” Douglas said. “And obviously, we had our ups and downs, but we stayed together. Everyone, I’m sure, is going to work extremely hard in the offseason and get better, and to remember this.”

It was a momentous series not only for the Fever, who were in the Finals for the first time, but for the league. TV ratings increased, and the average attendance of 16,404 was a record for the best-of-five format. The combined total points, 931, set a record, too.

Hoffman said it was an example of how much women’s basketball has evolved since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where seeds were sown for a WNBA.

For the first time, the WNBA pierced Indianapolis’ sports consciousness.

“We’ve taken our franchise to another level,” Krauskopf said. “We hope that we have captured the hearts and the minds of Indianapolis to sustain a lot of years to come.”

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195.