Playing in Philips Arena and facing the WNBA’s second-worst team was just what the Dream needed.
Behind 30 points from Angel McCoughtry, the Dream defeated the Connecticut Sun 88-57 on Friday night to improve to 9-1 at Philips Arena this season. McCoughtry made nine of her 11 shots to score at least 30 points against the Sun for the second time this season.
Erika de Souza added 18 points and 15 rebounds for her 10th double-double this season.
“Angel was electrifying,” Dream coach Fred Williams said. “She came out with a lot of energy and in rhythm offensively and defensively. She really set the tone.”
It was only the third game at home for the Dream in their past 10. The team will play seven of its next 10 at home, starting with Sunday’s game against Washington, which is chasing the Dream (12-9) in the East, and continuing Tuesday with Minnesota, which leads the Western Conference.
“Being at home and with home games coming up, we feel more comfortable,” Williams said.
The Dream built a 20-7 lead by the end of the first quarter in which the Sun missed their first 16 shots and had nine turnovers. The string was snapped when Iziane Castro Marques, a former standout for the Dream, made a 3-pointer with less than a minute left. McCoughtry led the Dream with 14 points in the period.
The Sun (7-16) overcame their poor shooting and decisions in the second quarter to cut the Dream’s lead to nine points behind Tina Charles. The former Connecticut standout scored eight points during a 9-0 run that saw the Dream’s lead whittled to 33-24.
Williams put his starters back in, and McCoughtry scored four of the Dream’s next six points to build the lead back to 15 at the half. The Sun missed 28 of their 36 shots in the half.
The Dream quickly squashed any hope the Sun had of coming back by opening the second half with a 16-0 run to take a 55-24 lead with 6:57 left in the third quarter. McCoughtry scored five points during the run and added a behind-the-back assist on a layup by Le’coe Willingham. McCoughtry closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Dream a 68-43 lead.
Willingham, who grew up in Augusta and played at Auburn, grabbed the 1,000th rebound of her career. It came in the first half. Her first 912 rebounds came with other teams.
The Dream’s fast start continued a trend this season. Before Friday’s game, the Dream had outscored opponents by 61 points in the first quarter and by 53 in the third.
The win snapped the Dream’s four-game losing streak and was their second in their past 10 games, both at home.
“It’s the highlight factory,” Williams said. “We need to find our own nickname. It’s the fans. They came out with energy, and we felt it.”
About the Author
