Liberty-Dream Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Jul 24 2010 12:42PM

The Atlanta Dream's hold on first place in the Eastern Conference slipped away during an empty four-game road trip. On their home court, however, they've been awfully tough to beat.

Atlanta tries to get back on track Sunday afternoon when it makes a brief stop at Philips Arena to face the New York Liberty, who look to complete a perfect three-game trip.

The Dream (14-9) had a one-game lead atop the East when it embarked on a four-game road swing July 14, but now finds itself trailing both Indiana and Washington for the conference's top spot.

The trek began with an 83-81 loss at Minnesota, but that was as close as Atlanta came to a victory. It lost the last three games by double digits, capped by an 82-72 loss to the Mystics on Wednesday.

"Every game is like a playoff game in the Eastern Conference," coach Marynell Meadors said. "The next game is more important than the last one you played. I thought today Washington really wanted it a lot more than we did and played harder than we did."

Angel McCoughtry certainly did all she could to help Atlanta get a win, averaging 25.5 points, but she didn't get much help from the team's second-leading scorer. Iziane Castro Marques was averaging 17.8 points as of July 13 but scored 10.5 per game on the trip while shooting 29.4 percent.

Perhaps being back at Philips Arena will help Castro Marques. She averaged 23.7 points in her last three home games, including a season-high 32 in the most recent one - a 108-103 win over Connecticut on July 7 as Atlanta improved to 8-2 at home.

New York (11-10), which has split two games with the Dream at Madison Square Garden, should feel confident going into Atlanta. The Liberty won 82-74 at Connecticut on Tuesday, then rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit Friday to beat Chicago 79-71.

New York has won four of five to get back into playoff contention.

"This comes at a great time," said guard Cappie Pondexter, who has averaged 26.7 points in her last three games. "We're trying to make a run for it and get a playoff spot in the second half. It feels good and hard work pays off."

Pondexter has averaged 23.0 points and 6.0 assists against the Dream.

The Liberty may need another big effort from Pondexter on Sunday considering its disadvantage on the boards. Atlanta is the league's best rebounding team (39.9 per game) while New York is one of the worst (31.1), and the Dream averaged 11.0 more in the first two matchups as Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle combined for 41 boards.

New York, however, holds the edge from beyond the arc. The Liberty lead the league in 3-point percentage (37.7) while the Dream (30.4) are last.

Atlanta heads back to the road for two games later this week.

McCoughtry, Castro Marques lead Dream past Liberty

Posted Jul 25 2010 5:58PM

ATLANTA (AP) Angel McCoughtry had 28 points and the Atlanta Dream went on a late 11-0 run to snap a four-game losing streak with an 82-75 victory over the New York Liberty on Sunday.

Iziane Castro Marques had 21 points for the Dream (15-9), including eight in the decisive final streak. Erika DeSouza added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while McCoughtry also had 10 rebounds and six assists.

Atlanta moved into second place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind Indiana and half-game ahead of third-place Washington.

Cappie Pondexter scored 28 points to lead New York (11-11), which fell into a last-place tie with Chicago - one game behind fourth-place Connecticut. Leilani Mitchell scored 13 points, Plenette Pierson added 12 and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 11.

The Liberty led 72-71 with less than 3 minutes remaining, but didn't score again until Mitchell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. New York missed four field goals and turned the ball over twice during the drought.

Castro Marques' jumper gave the Dream the lead for good with 2:39 to go, and McCoughtry's jumper made it 75-72 about 1 1/2 minutes later. Castro Marques hit a jumper with 40 seconds remaining, and then added two free throws less than 5 seconds later.

After Shalee Lehning made a free throw with 19 seconds left, Castro Marques had a layup 12 seconds later.

The Dream trailed by 10 points late in the second quarter before rallying to tie the score at 51-all on McCoughtry's 3 with 3:42 left in the third. Castro Marques put them ahead with a jumper nearly a minute later.

Pondexter had a 3 and a three-point play to give New York a 59-56 lead with about 1 minute left in the period. McCoughtry, who had 14 points in the third quarter, followed with a jumper and Lyttle's tip-in gave the Dream a 60-59 lead heading to the fourth.

The Liberty opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 28-15 lead on McWilliams-Franklin's jumper near the midpoint of the period. Pierson's jumper stretched the advantage to 37-27 with 2:19 left in the first half.

After Atlanta pulled within six, Mitchell hit a 3 and McWilliams-Franklin made a free throw to restore the Liberty's 10-point lead.

• Liberty: --
• Dream: --

• Liberty: --
• Dream: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #9 Denise Brooks-Clauser, #24 Tony Dawkins, #28 Angelica Suffren
• Attendance: 7030
• Duration: 2:4