Angel McCoughtry marshals Atlanta Dream to a 71-68 win over Chicago Sky– WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night, the Atlanta Dream shrugged off a late comeback by Chicago Sky to hold on to a 71-68 win at Philips Arena.
Guard Lindsey Harding scored four of her 11 points in the crucial last minute as Atlanta hung tough to score only their second win of the season. In addition to that, Atlanta fantastically handled the WNBA’s second leading scorer
and the Chicago centre Sylvia Fowles in the first three quarters of the game, limiting her to eight points only.
The team got off to an even start as both team failed to make the most of their offensive opportunities. After trailing 11-9 midway, Sky led by 14-13, with 04:21 to go in the first. Dream however made the break at that point and
went on a 12-3 run to take a 25-16 advantage into the second quarter.
Leading by nine points into the second quarter, Atlanta made some quick possessions and stretched their lead to 14 points within the first three minutes of the quarter. Sky however came within a single digit barrier on Young’s
lay-up two minutes later. Dream replied with a brisk 8-5 run of their own and took a 43-31 advantage at halftime.
At 04:37 mark in the third quarter, Chicago trailed by 13 points, 51-38. However, all of sudden their shorts started to fall and they scored 11 unanswered points to trim the deficit to just two points, 51-49, heading into the fourth.
Chicago came out hot in the fourth quarter and converted the two-point deficit into a 66-63 lead early. With the game slipping away from their grasp, Atlanta responded and went on a 7-3 run to make it 70-66 with one minute to go
in the regulation time. Fowles drove to the rim on the next Chicago possession to make it a two-point contest, 70-68, with 46 ticks to go. Harding then hit a free throw to push the lead to 71-68 and that was the way it ended.
Overall, it was Angel McCoughtry who did not miss the beat and led her team to victory. The forward player had 14 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Other top scorers of the night included Erika de Souza with
12 points, Lindsey Harding with 11 and Iziane Castro Marques had 10.
As for the Sky, Sylvia Fowles was the top scorer of the night. After scoring just eight points in the first 30 minutes of the game, the 25-year-old centre scored 13 of her 21 points in the final quarter. The player was 9 for 16
from the field and 3 for 3 from free throw line. Tamera Young came off the bench with 14 points. Epiphanny Prince followed them with 10 points.
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