Defense, the passing prowess of forward Angel McCoughtry, and a career night for center Erika de Souza turned a tight game into a victory for the Dream Tuesday night.
McCoughtry mixed in five assists with 14 points and gave the Dream a lift in the third quarter as they defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 93-85 at Philips Arena. De Souza tied a career high with 27 points, 20 in the second half, on 13-for-18 shooting.
Before a crowd of 5,409, the team set season highs for points in a game, half and quarter. Michael Cooper, the first-year coach, called it the team’s best game of the season.
The Dream created separation with a 15-3 run in the third quarter to take a 73-60 lead with 2:00 left. The surge was fueled by a series of defensive stops that led to transition scores for the Dream, many of them on baskets created by McCoughtry’s passing.
McCoughtry showed vision and touch, the highlight coming on a bullet pass from the wing to de Souza on a cutter to the basket.
The two-time All-WNBA selection came into the game averaging a career-high 4.8 assists per game, seventh in the WNBA. She’s actually second on the team behind rookie guard Shoni Schimmel, who entered the game second in the league at 6.7 assists per game and had a team-high seven assists off the bench Tuesday. Cooper said he has tried to instill in McCoughtry the idea that teams won’t let her beat them.
“One thing we’ve been working on is her vision of passing the basketball and, at times in our offense, using her as a decoy and having other things happen for other players,” Cooper said. “Tonight, I thought she did a great job of finding people on the weak side, going to the basket, dishing off, and when that happens, it opens up your whole game.”
The Dream’s 75-65 lead at the end of the third quarter gave them enough of a gap to withstand the Sparks’ fourth-quarter rally and the final 3:59, which Atlanta had to play without McCoughtry, who fouled out for the first time this season and fifth time in her six-year career.
The Sparks closed to 83-82 with 3:20 left, but they didn’t score again until 35.4 seconds remained and the game was in hand for the Dream.
The Dream (4-3) began a three-game homestand Tuesday that will continue Saturday against Chicago and June 13 against Minnesota and former Collins Hill High standout Maya Moore.
About the Author
