Angel McCoughtry scores 22 points as Atlanta Dream trounce Indiana Fever 70-58 - WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry struggled on court with a sore left knee in the first half but spewed fire in the second to end the night with 22 points to go with 5 boards, leading her team to a 70-58 victory
over Indiana Fever here at Philips Arena.
With this win, Dream rolled on to a 2 game winning streak. However McCoughtry’s status in the upcoming games is now shaky. She only played for less than 5 minutes in the decisive frame and said that she might a bit more time to
fully recover;
“It takes a little time to recover, but it's getting there,'' she said. ``I just want to get my explosiveness back and things like that so I can get up and down the floor. I look like grandma out there a little bit.''
Forward Sancho Lyttle netted 17 points and had 8 boards for Atlanta while reserve Cathrine Kraayeveld barely missed her double-double with 10 rebounds and 8 points.
Fever didn’t have a single player posting in double scoring figures. They could only challenge Dream once in the opening frame, when they managed an 8 points lead, however once that advantage was neutralized, they trailed throughout
the game afterwards.
Katie Douglas, Tamika Catchings and reserve Jessica Davenport all shared 8 points each. Katie said that fatigue took its toll on their performance and cost them the game.
`It was noon, and we didn't come with the energy and focus you need to play,'' Douglas said. ``I think we handled the first quarter well, but we know the game of basketball is runs and lulls and we had way too many lulls.''
The game started evenly as early in the opening frame and Atlanta were having a slender 5-4 lead. Indiana clawed that off with a 7-0 burst for a 11-5 advantage. Dream tried to narrow the gap but Fever kept them at bay and capped
off the segment at 18-12.
The visitors couldn’t hold on to their lead in the 2nd stanza as they went ice cold from the floor. Dream opened the 2nd period with a huge 11-0 spurt and gained a 23-18 lead. They stretched it down to 33-24,
and by the end of opening half had double-digit 37-26 lead.
The scenario didn’t change much in the third, as with 3:39 in hand, Atlanta were still enjoying a double-digit, 50-40, lead. They concluded the segment on an 8-4 burst and as the game entered into its last 10 minutes the hosts
were on the top with a 58-44 advantage.
Dream cruised through the decisive frame and midway through it they were leading by 66-50. Fever tried to trim the deficit with an 8-nothing run, and reduced the gap down to 8 points, 66-58. However McCoughtry netted a pair from
charity stripe while Lyttle came up with a jumper at the death, allowing Atlanta to bag the game with a 70-58 advantage.
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