Angel McCoughtry’s play helps Dream sneak past Sky in overtime

“This was a tough win tonight,” McCoughtry said. “We stayed composed. It shows this team is bonding to (coach Michael Cooper’s) system and doing what they’re supposed to do.”

Atlanta found itself down 97-93 in overtime after Cappie Pondexter hit a pair of free throws for Chicago (5-7) with just over two minutes to go. But the Sun were outgunned from there, as McCoughtry, Layshia Clarendon and Elizabeth Williams gave the Dream offense what it needed for an 8-0 run.

The free basketball came after a frantic fourth quarter that saw Atlanta go up 89-87 with 30 seconds left thanks to Tiffany Hayes’ free throws. Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne matched those shots with a pull-up jumper with 19 seconds left on the clock. McCoughtry and Delle Donne traded misses in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.

In a game that saw the teams trade the lead 18 times, Dream coach Michael Cooper pointed toward the Dream’s defense as the difference in the victory.

“Defense is going to take us where we want to go,” Cooper said. “I think both teams shot the ball extremely well, so it was going to be the team that made the best defensive stance that would win. I felt we did that down the stretch.”

The first three quarters provided a glimpse of the nail-biting nature of the game’s ending.

A competitive first quarter for the Dream turned ugly in the final three minutes. After trading the lead 12 times, the Sky finished the quarter on an 18-4 run that left Atlanta in a 38-27 hole.

Atlanta inched its way back into the game in the second quarter with an 18-7 run in the final minutes before halftime. Angel McCoughtry’s late layup in the period was matched by Courtney Vandersloot’s floater just seconds before the buzzer sounded, leaving the game tied 55-55.

The Dream outplayed the Sky again in the third quarter, building some breathing room with an 11-4 run up to the three-minute mark in the quarter. Chicago found the basket a few times before the quarter’s end, but Atlanta held a 75-69 advantage going into the fourth.

As if the overtime session wasn’t trying enough, the Dream face a quick turnaround. Atlanta travels to Washington, D.C. to take on the Mystics Saturday evening in Atlanta’s only back-to-back slate of games in 2016.

While it’s not ideal given the extra time spent on the court, McCoughtry knows the circumstances could be worse.

“It’s always better when you have a win,” McCoughtry said.