Dream’s improbable comeback attempt falls short
The Dream nearly completed an improbable comeback Tuesday afternoon, but a slow start and a disastrous second quarter doomed them to their second straight loss.
Despite a spirited fourth quarter rush, a 29-point third-quarter deficit proved insurmountable to the Dream, who were outscored by 16 points in the second.
The Dream started the final period with more energy and pulled within seven twice, but Indiana held on for a 90-79 victory at Philips Arena. While coach Michael Cooper complimented the comeback effort, he wants his team to maintain its intensity.
“Lousy game by us, the way we started,” Cooper said. “I like the fight in us. But again, you can’t dig a 20-, 25 point hole and try to come out of it against any team, especially this team.”
Playing without starting forward Tiffany Hayes, the team’s second-leading scorer, and reserve forward/center Aneika Henry, who are both at the 2015 European Games, the Dream (2-4) struggled early.
The Fever (2-4) poured in 33 points during the second quarter while Dream forward Angel McCoughtry sat on the bench for the final 8:38 with three fouls. During the Fever’s outburst, the Dream, fifth in the WNBA in rebounds, gave the Fever too many second-chance opportunities, Cooper said. Four of the Fever’s 10 offensive rebounds came in the second quarter.
“That’s what we’ve always hung our hats on, our rebounding ability,” Cooper said. “Our rebounding enables us to get out and go and score in transition.”
The Dream also struggled to contain the Fever’s long-range attack. While the Dream shot 28.6% from beyond the arc, the Fever hit over 47% of their 3-pointers. Indiana forward Marissa Coleman and guard Maggie Lucas led the way with three and four 3-pointers, respectively, and scored a combined 35 points.
After falling behind by 29 with 2:03 left in the third quarter, the Dream went on a 25-6 run that cut the deficit to 10.
“They just got tired of getting kicked in the stomach and decided to do something about it,” Cooper said.
In the fourth, the Dream scored 15 points off nine turnovers, including seven steals. They also shot 12 of their 20 free throws in the fourth.
“We were getting steals and we were getting stops,” guard Erica Wheeler said. “We were attacking the basketball more.”
But the comeback fell short.
“We started playing hard and the points stared chipping away,” said forward Sancho Lyttle, who had a game-high 19 points. “A little too late but that’s how we have to start every quarter, every game, the way we started the fourth quarter, like we’re down all the time.”
