The Dream had led for virtually the entire game, but with two minutes left, the lead, as large as 15 points at one point, had been cut to one.
Forward Angel McCoughtry responded with five points on the next two possessions, extending the lead back to six, and the Dream held on for a 72-64 victory over Seattle at Philips Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Dream never trailed after taking a 5-3 lead less than three minutes into the game and McCoughtry’s game-high 23 points led the way.
“We can’t let them come back and win this game because we were up a lot of points,” McCoughtry recalled thinking. “I just tried to stay in attack mode.”
Even with McCoughtry’s late-game surge, the Dream (5-6) clung to a four-point advantage over the Storm (3-9) with 23 seconds left. Forward Sancho Lyttle, who entered the game second in the WNBA in steals, sealed the win with steals on back-to-back possessions.
Guard Tiffany Hayes and forward/center Aneika Henry returned Sunday after a five-game absence while at the 2015 European Games. Hayes, the Dream’s second-leading scorer, took the place of Roneeka Hodges in the starting lineup. While Hayes said she’s working to get back into an offensive rhythm and went 3-for-15 from the field, she was the Dream’s second-leading scorer with 12 points.
The presence of Hayes and Henry weren’t the only differences on the Dream’s roster. Prior to the game, the team announced the trade of rookie point guard Samantha Logic, the 10th overall pick, who went to San Antonio for a 2016 second-round pick. In four games this season, Logic averaged less than a point and an assist in 5.8 minutes.
“She was a player that we felt needed some minutes on the floor,” coach Michael Cooper said. “I don’t think she was going to be able to get that here.”
No other point guards, such as Shoni Schimmel, are being shopped, Cooper said. An All-Star last year, Schimmel has played just three minutes in the last three games. Cooper said he’s comfortable with the point guard position with starter Matee Ajavon, backup Erica Wheeler and Sydney Carter as a “safety net.”
The Dream had a nine-day layoff before Sunday. Cooper used that time to work on defense and was pleased with the results. On Sunday, the Dream held the Storm to 39 percent shooting, their best performance in that metric over the past six games.
That helped propel the Dream to a win and one game closer to .500.
“Probably one of our best efforts as far as consistent play for 40 minutes,” Cooper said. “Two, three weeks ago, that possibly could have been a loss for us.”
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