Atlanta Dream, Tulsa Shock and Connecticut Sun win - WNBA Roundup, 30 August 2012
Atlanta Dream vs. Washington Mystics:
Atlanta Dream finally had something to cheer about when they beat Washington Mystics 82-59 at the Philips Arena. Erika DeSouza was the mainstay for the Dream scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds along with Lindsay Harding’s 16 points
and 5 assists and Tiffany Hayes’ 15 points.
Atlanta (13-13) came back with a thumping performance in the second half after trailing 33-31 at half-time. Monique Currie (14) and Crystal Langhorne (13) were the top scorers for the Mystics (5-20) who got heavily outscored in
the last two quarters, 26-15 and 25-11 respectively.
The win comes as a breath of fresh air for the Dream who have had their fair share of team trouble in the last few weeks with WNBA scoring leader Angel McCoughtry out of the squad due to a suspension over violation of team policy
and conflict with former coach Marynell Meadors. The win also comes as a first since new coach Fred Williams took charge of the team after Meadors was fired at the start of this week.
The Dream will now take on Connecticut Sun on 2 September.
Connecticut Sun vs. San Antonio Silver Stars:
Tina Charles’ 20 points inspired Connecticut Sun (19-6) to stop San Antonio Silver Stars’ nine games winning streak at home by beating them 84-73 on Thursday night.
Charles (20), Kara Lawson (14), Renee Montgomery (13), Kelsey Griffin (13) and Danielle McCray (10) all scored in double figures to strengthen the lead for the top side in the Eastern Conference.
Danielle Adams (22) and Sophia Young (20) were the leading scorers for the Silver Stars (17-8).
Both teams started off fiercely by scoring 21 points in the first 5 minutes setting the tone for the rest of the match.
After tying the first quarter 20-20, the Sun accelerated in the second with a 16-0 spurt and in the end that turned out to be the major difference between the two teams. Silver Stars tried hard to fight back in the second quarter,
but the Sun hung tough to clinch the game.
Though Adams and Young kept on scoring on regular intervals during that span, but the Sun always returned with a strong response every time they were put under pressure by the duo.
The winners will take on Atlanta Dream on Sunday while the Silver Stars will play Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.
Tulsa Shock vs. Los Angeles Sparks:
After losing an 8-point half time advantage, Los Angeles Sparks succumbed to a surprising 99-85 defeat at the hands of Tulsa Shock at the BOK Centre on Thursday.
Star guard Ivory Latta turned out to be the major difference between the two teams with a double-double of 21 points and a career best of 14 assists. Lighting up the court with 7 assists during the game changing third quarter,
Latta helped the Shock cruise through the rest of the match.
7 players from the Shock contributed to the score line with a double figure tally in addition to an impressive 3-point percentage of 58.3 (14-of-24) percent through the game.
Shock’s win also broke a nine game winning sequence for the L.A side which is now number two in the Western Conference.
For the Sparks, Kristi Toliver (21 points, 8 assists) and Nneka Ogwumike (15 points) were the leading scorers. Largely due to their show, Sparks led 50-42 at half time only to have a disastrous third quarter which they lost 36-12
due to a rampage by Ivory Latta.
Tags: