Dream ruins ex-players' homecoming with 90-83 win

By Pierce W. Huff

For the AJC

The Atlanta Dream took advantage of free throw chances and got some balanced scoring to ruin the homecoming of former players Chamique Holdsclaw and Michelle Snow on Sunday.

The Dream, last in the WNBA in free throw percentage going in, set season game-highs for most made free throws (23) and assists (27) and tied the mark for free throw attempts (30).

Meanwhile five players scored in double figures as the Dream defeated San Antonio 90-83 at Philips Arena.

It was the Dream’s second victory against San Antonio this season.

The Dream’s Sancho Lyttle scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds. Teammates in double figures were Angel McCoughtry (23), Iziane Castro Marques (12) and Shalee Lehning and Alison Bales, with 10 points each.

Sophia Young led San Antonio with 24 points.

Holdsclaw scored 15 on five-of-12 shooting from the field and had nine rebounds. She requested a trade and refused to go to training camp with the Dream. She was released by Atlanta on May 19 and signed with San Antonio two days later.

Snow scored 14 points on six of nine shooting from the field and had five rebounds. She was traded from the Dream to San Antonio for Dalma Ivanyi and a 2011 draft pick on March 11.

“Snow and Holdsclaw were two different circumstances,” Dream general manager/coach Marynell Meadors said. “I really like Snow, and still prefer that she was here. It was a situation where I needed to make a move and clear out some things. Snow is a worker and never misses a day of practice. And then with Holdsclaw it was an unfortunate thing that happened.”

The Dream (8-3) had lost three of their last four coming into Sunday’s game.

“This was big, because I think the first game we lost hit us when we were not expecting it,” Lyttle said. “We figured out what teams wanted to do to us to slow us down. We had to regroup.”

San Antonio led 39-37 at halftime behind 13 points from Young.

Atlanta took control of the game midway through the third quarter, showing the kind of defensive intensity and offensive efficiency that led to a 6-0 start.

With the Dream trailing 51-47, Bales went to work, hitting two free throws to give the Dream a 55-53 lead. She added a 3-pointer to make the score 58-53.

The Dream finished the quarter with an 8-3 run to take a 66-55 lead.

Lehning hit a jump shot to give the Dream a 74-65 lead with 5:22 remaining. Lyttle increased the lead to 86-75 with a layup with two minutes left.

San Antonio (3-6) cut Atlanta’s lead to 86-83 when Edwige Lawson-Wade hit a 3-pointer with 28.7 seconds left. But the Dream scored the last four points of the game.

“We started rebounding and running our game (in the fourth quarter),” Lyttle said.