Angel McCoughtry tried to fire up the Dream’s fans before their home opener against New York on Friday night at Philips Arena.
Taking the microphone, she thanked the nearly 7,000 in attendance before the banner commemorating last year’s WNBA Eastern Conference championship was unveiled.
McCoughtry then went out and gave them more to cheer about, filling up the box score in a 100-74 victory over the Liberty. McCoughtry, who will play for the U.S. team in the Summer Olympics in London, finished with 23 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds in three quarters.
“She’s just a great player,” coach Marynell Meadors said. “She finds a way to score; she finds a way to rebound; she finds a way to get someone else a shot.”
Meadors elected to rest her and many of the starters in the fourth quarter. By that time, the Dream (1-1) held a 21-point lead and could be excused for looking ahead to Sunday’s home game against Indiana. The Fever defeated the Dream 92-84 in their season opener.
No play summed up McCoughtry’s night better than the off-balance 3-pointer she threw up as time was expiring in the third quarter. Unable to find a teammate to pass to, she took a step to her right to create a small shooting window and launched the shot, landing on her knees as the ball dropped.
Led by McCoughtry, who was 9-of-17 from the field, the Dream looked more efficient on offense against the Liberty (0-4) than they did against Indiana. Every player scored, with point guard Lindsey Harding scoring 19 and center Yelena Leuchanka, back from a concussion, adding 10. The Dream shot 49.4 percent, made nine 3-pointers and turned 22 turnovers into 31 points. Meadors said the Dream’s 16-point difference in points in the paint also was key to the victory.
On defense, the Dream limited New York’s two leading scorers, Cappie Pondexter and Plenette Pierson, enough to open a comfortable lead early. The frontcourt harassed Pierson into 1-for-5 shooting in the first half, and the backcourt shut out Pondexter, who was the Liberty’s leading scorer with 17.3 points per game.
“I thought we did a really good job on Pondexter, especially in the first half,” Meadors said. Pondexter finished with 18 points.
With their leading scorer misfiring early, the Liberty couldn’t match the Dream’s firepower. The Dream used a 10-2 run to end the first quarter to take a 28-18 lead. McCoughtry had a hand in eight of the points, with three baskets and one assist.
The Liberty opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run as the Dream struggled to get in sync on offense. But then Harding took over with six points, and Cathrine Kraayeveld added another to push the Dream’s lead to 11. Armintie Price added a steal and a free throw to give the Dream a 37-25 lead with 4:07 left.
The Dream broke open the game with an 11-4 run to end the first half and take a 48-33 lead. McCoughtry was again at the heart of the run, scoring six points and adding an assist to Leuchanka for a layup at the buzzer. McCoughtry finished with 14 points in the first half.
“She’s just a special player,” Meadors said.
