Sun-Dream Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jul 06 2010 11:28PM

The top picks in each of the last two WNBA drafts continue to pay dividends for their respective teams.

Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream look to cap a six-game homestand with a victory Wednesday night against Tina Charles and the Connecticut Sun.

Atlanta (13-5) selected McCoughtry with the first pick in 2009, and she easily won Rookie of the Year honors. McCoughtry has been even better this season, increasing her scoring average from 12.8 to 19.8 points to develop into an MVP candidate and help the Dream take over the Eastern Conference lead.

The favorite to win this year's Rookie of the Year is clearly Charles, who leads the WNBA in double-doubles (13) and rebounding (12.2) and tops all first-year players in scoring (15.2) after being chosen by the Sun (10-7) in this year's draft.

Both players shined in the first meeting between these teams May 21. McCoughtry scored 32 points to lead Atlanta to a 97-82 home win, while Charles led the Sun with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The difference may have been the 27 points and 17 boards from the Dream's Sancho Lyttle. The forward blossomed into an All-Star for the first time last season in her fifth year, and she's averaging career highs of 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in 2010.

It's unclear, though, if Lyttle will be available Wednesday. She suffered a concussion in Saturday's 88-82 home loss to Chicago when an elbow from Sky center Sylvia Fowles landed on Lyttle's left cheekbone with three minutes left.

No foul was called on the play, upsetting the Dream.

"I don't have anything good to say (about the officiating), so I'm not going to say anything at all," coach Marynell Meadors said.

The Dream's five-game home win streak was snapped as they finished a stretch of four games in seven days. Atlanta is 7-2 at home, with both losses to Chicago.

McCoughtry scored a team-high 20 points for Atlanta, but her shooting slump continued. She has made 9 of 36 shots over her last two games, missing all nine 3-point attempts.

Connecticut fell to 2-2 on its six-game road trip with a 79-66 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday. Tan White led the Sun with 17 points and Charles had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

"Overall, I think we had some good looks and some good shots at the basket, but we just weren't able to knock them down," White said.

McCoughtry, Castro Marques lead Dream in OT win

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Jul 07 2010 10:08PM

ATLANTA(AP) Angel McCoughtry and Iziane Castro Marques each scored 32 points to lead the Atlanta Dream to a 108-103 overtime victory against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night.

Erika DeSouza had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Dream (14-5), winners of five of their last six games. McCoughtry and Alison Bales - starting in place of the injured Sancho Lyttle - had 10 rebounds each.

Sun rookie Tina Charles had a season-high 27 points and 20 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 14th double-double. Asjha Jones scored 17 points, Sandrine Gruda had 16 and Kara Lawson 11 for fourth-place Connecticut (10-8), which lost its third straight for the first time this season.

The game featured the last two No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft - McCoughtry, out of Louisville in 2009, and UConn's Charles this year.

Charles made two free throws with 2:22 left in overtime to give the Sun a 103-101 lead, and they didn't score again.

McCoughtry's tied the score with a jumper with 1:04 left and then gave the Dream their first lead of the extra period with a three-point play 32 seconds later. The go-ahead play came after instant replay overruled that Dream guard Shalee Lehning stepped on the baseline.

Bales and DeSouza each made a free throw in the final 26 seconds to seal Atlanta's win.

With each team playing its final game before the All-Star break, the Dream moved one game ahead of Washington atop the East. The Sun fell three games behind Atlanta.

Lyttle missed the game due to aftereffects of a concussion sustained in a loss to Chicago on Saturday.

McCoughtry's fadeaway jumper with 31 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 95. Charles turned the ball over with a double dribble on Connecticut's ensuing possession. McCoughtry missed a jumper with under 2 seconds left, and Lehning's potential winning putback came after the buzzer.

McCoughtry's two free throws with 3:18 left in the third quarter gave the Dream a 77-63 lead, their biggest advantage of the game.

However, the Sun went on a 29-11 run, capped by Tan White's three-point play that gave Connecticut a 92-88 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

• Sun: --
• Dream: --

• Sun: --
• Dream: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #55 Eric Brewton, #52 James Williams, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 5305
• Duration: 2:25