The Dream jumped to an early double-digit lead and never let up en route to a 75-56 thumping of the New York Liberty on Friday to improve to 4-0 on the season in front of 6,173 fans. Three of the Dream’s four wins have been by double-digits.
“We came out at the beginning with a game plan of trying to establish ourselves on the offensive end by running,” Dream coach Fred Williams said. “We wanted to get out in the passing lanes, and some of that created our offense in transition.”
Angel McCoughtry stuffed the stat sheet for the Dream with a double-double, scoring 15 points and tying a career-high with 10 assists. She also had five rebounds and six steals.
“She’s been working hard in practice,” Williams said. “She’s really a player that is trying to develop more passing to her teammates and going to the boards. If she continues that, it’s only going to make the team better.”
Sancho Lyttle had a game-high 18 points, shooting a stellar 80 percent (8-of-10) from the floor. Erika DeSouza added 13 points and snatched six rebounds.
Williams credits the team’s hot start to team chemistry.
“I think it’s the overall practice we do and how they like playing with each other,” Williams said. “That’s evident in the combination of passes and having 20 assists per game. They really work hard in practice, and we get them prepared. I like a team to have a lot of energy, and that is what they are giving me right now.”
The Dream again struggled for the 3-point line, shooting 21 percent (3-of-14) from behind the arc. But the Dream masks its lack of perimeter shooting by getting out in transition for layups. On defense, the Dream forced the Liberty into shooting 12.5 percent (1-of-8) on 3-point shots.
Kara Braxton was the only Liberty player in double figures, with 14 points and six rebounds. Alex Montgomery grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Liberty had 19 turnovers, which led to 14 Dream points.
“It was the same dilemma we’ve had for the first few games,” Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer said. “Turnovers and giving their team second-chance points caught up with us again. We can’t win consistently doing that, and it caught up to us tonight.”
A scary moment happened for the Liberty when forward Essence Carson hit the floor on a fast break. Carson grabbed her left knee in pain. She had to be carried off the floor and did not return.
“It doesn’t look positive, but I’m not a doctor, so we’ll wait to see what the doctors have to say,” Laimbeer said.
The Dream led wire-to-wire, but the Liberty continued to fight. The Dream took an 11-point lead into halftime. The Liberty cut it to single digits in the second half before the Dream surged to build a 21-point margin.
The Dream return to action Sunday with a trip to New York to face the Liberty. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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