San Antonio Silver Stars beat Atlanta Dream 92-86; Improve to a 6-1 record – WNBA Recap
The San Antonio Silver Stars eclipsed their finest starting record in the 15-year WNBA history, when they romped to a league best 6-1 with a 92-86 victory over Atlanta Dream on Sunday night at Philips Arena.
Jia Perkins came off the bench with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Perkins also pinned 9 of 10 free throws. Danielle Adams added 19 points and four rebounds while Becky Hammon had 17 points, six assists, five rebounds
and two steals for San Antonio.
Hammon appreciated the terrific performance of Perkins after the game, "Not only is she a good scorer, but she's someone that gets a lot of people involved and has rebounded like crazy these last few games.” "We just need her to
keep being productive."
Sophia Young contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Danielle Robinson ended with 11 points and four assists in the second consecutive victory for Silver Stars.
Coco Miller led Atlanta with 19 points while Angel McCoughtry ended with 15 points and eight rebounds. Lindsey Harding scored 13 points and Erika de Souza punctuated 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the second straight
defeat of Atlanta.
Backed by Perkinss' eight-point first quarter, the Silver Stars got off to a hot start, taking a 22-17 lead into the second. Atlanta responded vociferously in the second quarter and converted the opening period deficit into a 41-40
lead at halftime.
The Silver Stars came out strong in the third quarter and built a 49-45, midway through the quarter. McCoughtry’s jumper and Bales’ lay-up within the next minutes however tied the game at 49-49 with 05:50 remaining in the third.
San Antonio responded. They scored six unanswered points to go ahead by 55-49. Atlanta however answered with a 12-3 burst, taking a 61-58 lead with just 57 seconds to go in the third. The topsy-turvy trend of the game continued
though as Young and Robinson scored the last five points to give the Silver Stars a 63-61 lead, going into the fourth.
Trailing by two points at the end of three quarters, Dream made early inroad and with 05:02 to go in the fourth quarter, they raced to a 78-71lead. The Silver Stars however were in mood to lay back and a Perkinss three and Young’s
follow-up jumper decreased the deficit to two, 78-76.
Adams then hit a free throw at 02:23 mark to knot the game at 79 and Hammon followed her with a pair of free throws to put San Antonio ahead by 81-79. McCoughtry answered for Atlanta with a pair of free throws to tie the game at
81, but San Antonio scored the next five points to take an 86-81 lead. With 25 second remaining, Atlanta didn’t stand much chance and eventually lost 92-86.
Dream Coach Marynell Meadors was optimistic though, "I thought our effort was absolutely perfect," "In the last two minutes, we had a chance to win the game, but we just didn't win the game."
Tags: