Indiana Fever beat Atlanta Dream 82-74 in game -1 of the Eastern Conference Finals
The game-1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever ended in a disappointment for Atlanta Dream as they lost the match 74-82. Now, they will need to win both the remaining matches to reach the WNBA
Finals for a second time running.
Tangela Smith from Indiana Fever ended with the game high 25 points and 9 rebounds but it was the late heroics of Tamika Catchings that sealed the match for Indiana Fever. Not taking the credit away from Tangela, but it is just
that Catchings scored at crucial times in the game. She ended with modest 13 points but impressive 13 rebounds too.
With few minutes to go in the match, Tamika stole the ball from Angel McCoughtry of Atlanta Dream, ran half the court and posted the ball in the net with a layup to give her team a decisive 74-66 lead.
Tangela Smith was all praise for Catchings which shows there is a unity in team and players enjoy each other’s success. "She's just a hustle player, she just outworks everybody," Tangela said. "We needed that stop at that time.
That's what Catch does."
A lot was expected from Angel McCoughtry of Atlanta Dream in this match but unfortunately she could not deliver tonight. She was in foul trouble throughout the match and only played for seventeen minutes. In her short time on court,
she could only manage 11 points which is 10.5 below her regular season average.
Lindsey Harding scored 17 points, Sancho Lyttle 14, Armintie Price 13 and Erika DeSouza only scored 8 points, though her tally of rebounds was impressive at 13. Both teams were bit sloppy tonight. Atlanta gave 14 turnovers whereas
the Fever ended with 20 turnovers.
The first quarter of the match was very balanced. Both teams looked aggressive in their approach and attacked each other with full throttle. With 4 minutes to go in the first quarter, Lindsay Harding scored through a jump shot
and extended her team’s lead to 3 points 24-21.
McCoughtry conceded another personal foul deep in the second quarter and was replaced by Castro Marques. Indiana Fever, keyed by Tamika and Smith, ended the first half ahead by 42-40.
The third quarter continued to be an intense battle and by the time it ended, the scores were tied at 57.
With 7 minutes remaining in the game, Smith scored a very crucial 3 pointer. Angel McCoughtry came in at that, but continued to concede fouls during that period. Smith and Catchings took full advantage of it and kept on scoring
to extend the lead. The game finally ended with scores at 82-74, putting Indiana one up in the series.
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