Atlanta Dream takes on British women's basketball team in a friendly match
Great Britain Basketball will organise a high-level friendly match between Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) side Atlanta Dream and the British women's team on 29 May, 2011 at the MEN Arena in Manchester. The match is of great importance for
the American league, as it will be their first step into the European market.
The Manchester City Council is arranging the event together with the National Basketball Association (NBA), WNBA and USA Basketball. The main aim of the match is to provide British basketball fans with an opportunity to enjoy live games in their city.
The 23-year-old guard for the British women’s team, Jo Leedham said it would be an excellent opportunity to promote the sport of basketball among young players in the United Kingdom. She said, "It is a fantastic opportunity. It can only inspire many more
young players in Britain. It will be a huge test for our team, but will help in our preparations and will be an exciting moment."
Britain will field a women's basketball team at the Olympics for the first time in the 2012 London Olympics.
Tom Maher, who is the one of the most outstanding coaches in the history of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), is heading the side. Under his admirable guidance, the team made its way to their first European Championship tournament; Euro Basket
2011.
Leedham stated it would be a great experience to play against a strong team. She said, "I think it is great for women's basketball, especially in the UK, and by having such a quality team in the Atlanta Dream as opponents.”
The Atlanta Dream, on the other hand, is an Atlanta based team in the WNBA. They made the playoffs in the last two season of the WNBA. In 2010, they finished runners-up in the finals of the league.
Last season, the Dream was declared as the WNBA’s top scoring team, averaging 95.5 points per game.
The 24-year-old forward Angel McCoughtry is the backbone of the Atlanta Dream. McCoughtry is the leading scorer and rebounder in the Big East Conference - a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities. In addition to that, she was
crowned Big East Player of the Year 2006-07 in her sophomore year.
McCoughtry said, "Women's basketball is truly a global game and that is something we want to continue to grow. This is an exciting way for us to tip off our season and promote the game leading up to the 2012 Olympics."
Forwards Iziane Castro Marques and Sancho Lyttle are the other prominent players for Atlanta. Both players played a vital role in the Dream’s run to the 2010 finals, as Marques averaged a career-high 16.9 points, while Lyttle averaged 9.9 rebounds; the third
most in the WNBA.
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