Dream coach Michael Cooper was confident his team could grab a win over Seattle on Tuesday. While he wouldn’t guarantee the team’s first victory since June 17, Sancho Lyttle and Angel McCoughtry validated their coach’s belief.
Lyttle and McCoughtry combined for 40 points in Atlanta’s 77-64 victory to snap a six-game losing streak. Lyttle recorded her third double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and tallying 11 rebounds. McCoughtry had 18 points in the victory.
“It took some challenging certain players for us to get this win,” Cooper said. “I thought the things we did tonight — staying with our defense, using schemes we wanted and moving the basketball — definitely helped us.”
Atlanta (9-9) pulled away from Seattle (6-11) due to a hot streak to start the fourth quarter. The Dream led by two points to start the final 10 minutes but exploded offensively, outscoring the Storm 23-12 to close out the game.
Lyttle delivered the exclamation point to the victory, delivering a strong block in the final minutes.
“We were playing together,” Lyttle said. “Coach told me I needed to do more, and that’s what I did tonight. We played better defense tonight than we did in previous games.”
The strong finish was a welcomed sight for McCoughtry, who had grown frustrated during the team’s recent skid.
“It was like a cloud was hanging over us, and it’s gone,” McCoughtry said. “We had a better sense of urgency (tonight). In the other games, there was no sense of urgency. That’s what you need to win.”
Atlanta’s strong finish overshadowed a lackluster start to the game. The team shot 30 percent in the opening quarter and hovered around that number through the first half. The defense, however, kept the team in the game while the offense found a groove.
The victory over Seattle avenges the Dream’s 84-81 loss on June 28. It also snapped the Dream’s three-game losing streak to the Storm.
So, what was the difference this time around? For Cooper, the answer was simple.
“Sancho Lyttle played,” Cooper said.
Cooper said he felt good about his team’s chances against Seattle for several reasons. He said the Storm are more of a motion-orientated team instead of a physical one, which provided a better chance for Atlanta. Cooper said the Dream is “getting there” when it comes to handling teams built on physicality but knew Seattle’s style of play would played to Atlanta’s favor.
With his team’s latest triumph, the thought of a losing streak is now dead and buried.
“We weren’t going to lose forever,” Cooper said. “It’s just about us establishing our game all over again.”
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