Angel McCoughtry scored 33 points, but the Dream couldn’t stop Chicago’s Epiphanny Prince or Sylvia Fowles in a 94-92 loss Saturday at Philips Arena.
Prince scored a career-high 33 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game into overtime. She topped that with two more 3-pointers from the same spot on the right wing to sink the Dream in overtime.
But the game may have been decided by a call that neither Dream coach Marynell Meadors nor her players say they've ever seen.
The Dream, which at one point had a 22-point lead, fought back from a 10-point deficit to take a three-point lead with 20.6 seconds left.
A jump ball was called.
As the players jockeyed for position, the referees called Atlanta's Laurie Koehn for a technical foul. Neither Koehn, McCoughtry nor Meadors said they've never seen a technical foul called on a jump ball. Neither Koehn nor Meadors said they were told why she was called. Meadors said the referees are supposed to explain those fouls.
Koehn said that Chicago's Swin Cash was told to stop pushing her off her spot. Koehn, with her back turned toward the official, heard the whistle blow again and assumed Cash had received the technical. Instead, the call went against Koehn.
Prince made the free throw to cut Atlanta's lead to 83-81 with 20.6 seconds left.
Sancho Lyttle was fouled on Atlanta's inbounds play. She made a free throw. Fowles answered with a layup.
Ketia Swanier was fouled on the inbounds and made both free throws. Chicago raced down the court. Fowles flattened Lyttle and Prince threw up a 22-foot shot at the buzzer to tie the game.
The shot wasted a tremendous rallying effort by the Dream, led by McCoughtry.
She scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-point basket that give Atlanta the lead with 42.5 seconds left.
The Dream had to rally because they couldn't stop Prince or Fowles, who almost had as many rebounds (19) as the Dream (23).
Meadors rued her team's inability to rebound after the first quarter, saying she hoped that Erika de Souza's return in August after the Olympics will solve the issue. Just like in the loss to Indiana last week, she said her her players didn't step forward in the second quarter when Chicago began to challenge them physically.
Prince went back to work in overtime, hitting two 3-pointers from the same spot as the one which tied the game.
McCoughtry made two consecutive baskets for the Dream to cut the gap to 92-90 in overtime. Prince wasn’t done. She drove at Lindsey Harding and made a step-back jumper near the baseline to give Chicago a 94-90 lead.
Lyttle followed with a basket to make it a two-point game.
After the Dream stopped Chicago, McCoughtry drove down the left side but couldn’t get her short jumper to drop. However, the ball went out of bounds off a Chicago player, giving the Dream one more shot with 12.3 seconds left.
Koehn airballed a long jumper on the inbounds play. Lyttle grabbed the loose ball but airballed her shot from the other side of the court.
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