Three point one seconds.
That was how long the Dream trailed Sunday at Philips Arena. The problem for the Dream (4-6) is that they were the final 3.1 seconds of the game, as they lost to the Connecticut Sun 75-73 in heartbreaking fashion.
And it was a controversial foul call that helped give the Sun their first and only lead. The Dream’s Armintie Price fouled the Sun’s Tina Charles with 3.1 seconds to go. While Atlanta thought the foul was before the shot, the officials did not, sending the Connecticut star to the line for two shots.
Charles sank both, and after the Dream’s last possession came up empty, the Sun (8-2) escape with the victory, their second win against Atlanta in as many weeks after beating the Dream last Sunday at home 92-73.
While she did not directly criticize the officials, Dream coach Marynell Meadors hinted at her thoughts on the Charles foul.
“I just really believe that players should decide the outcome of the game,” she said.
Price declined to comment when asked about the foul, but that did nothing to take away from her actions on the court. She totaled season-highs in points (20) and steals (four) and dished out six assists, which tied her output against the Phoenix Mercury on May 31 as her best tally of the season. Despite her sterling play, she was not pleased it was all for naught.
“I don’t think it’s too awesome when we lose the game,” she said.
Price’s performance offset Angel McCoughtry’s absence, who sat out the game with a sprained left MCL. Meadors said “we just didn’t want to take a chance” risking further injury, but the team’s leading scorer could have played if necessary.
Meadors said McCoughtry re-injured the knee Friday, when she played 25 minutes and scored 31 points in a 92-59 victory against Los Angeles. Meadors said the injury is in the same knee she hurt last season.
“It might have been best that we sat her,” Meadors said.
The Dream might have liked it if the Sun had employed the same strategy with Charles, who put on a dominant performance with 23 points and 22 rebounds. Following Sunday’s victory, she downplayed her rebounding, saying she “was [just] going after the ball.”
“We needed to get the boards in order to get transitions,” she said. “That was the one big thing for us, so I was just doing what I had to do down there.”
The Dream led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter. But the Sun began to steadily chip away at the edge before halftime.
Not surprisingly, Connecticut’s improved play coincided with their star coming alive. After being held scoreless in the first quarter and going 0-for-4 from the field, Charles scored 13 points in the second quarter, making six of seven shots, which helped the Sun cut the Dream’s lead to 39-36 heading to the locker room.
Connecticut was not able to tie the score until 9:04 was left to play, as Sun forward Mistie Mims’ jump shot knotted the score at 60-60. The Dream responded immediately, scoring on their next three possessions to take a 67-60 edge.
The Sun would not go down quietly, however, fighting back to tie the score again at 69-all after Charles made a running hook shot with just under five minutes to play.
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