Dream-Liberty Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jul 12 2011 9:55PM

The struggling Atlanta Dream could be getting back a key player Wednesday. In any case, they'll be facing an opponent they should have confidence against.

Sancho Lyttle could play for the first time in nearly a month when the Dream go on the road and try to end the New York Liberty's season-high three-game win streak.

Atlanta (3-8) has hardly resembled the team that swept New York (7-5) in last year's Eastern Conference finals. Part of the Dream's woes have been due to the absence of Lyttle, who was not with the club since June 14 while playing with the Spanish national team in the Eurobasket Women 2011 tourney.

Lyttle returned to the Dream for Saturday's 81-69 loss at Chicago but sat out with a sore back. She averaged 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in Atlanta's first four games.

Lyttle has played in two of Atlanta's three games against New York, with the Dream holding a 2-1 edge. If she plays Wednesday, it will be the second time in the season series that Atlanta would have its regular starting lineup available.

The first time was Atlanta's first visit to Newark on June 14, a 79-58 rout in which Angel McCoughtry scored 18 points and Erika de Souza added 12.

The Liberty are playing like a different team these days, winning five of six with the lone loss an 87-81 defeat at Atlanta on June 30. De Souza had 27 points and 15 boards to lead the Dream.

New York has won all three games since facing Atlanta and rallied for an 80-73 victory over the Sky on Sunday. Essence Carson returned after missing two games with an eye injury and scored 18 points.

"I didn't want to come in and just shoot the ball," Carson said. "Especially with the team coming off back-to-back wins, they had been in rhythm. I didn't want to come in and disrupt the rhythm."

Coach John Whisenant was pleased with the Liberty's improvement on defense.

"Our defense gave them 49 points in the first half and that same defense held them to 24 in the second half," he said. "We were sleepwalking in the first part of the game and we gave a lot of easy baskets and they were coming out with energy, but fortunately we were able to turn it around."

Cappie Pondexter scored 18 points and is averaging 21.0 over her last eight games. That includes a season-high 24-point performance in the last meeting with Atlanta after she averaged 9.5 in the first two.

McCoughtry struggled in Saturday's defeat, missing 17 of 23 shots but still scoring a team-high 17 points. She's shooting 36.4 percent for the season, 31.6 on 3-pointers.

The Dream rank last in the WNBA in 3-point shooting at 24.0 percent.

Powell's 20 lead Liberty past Dream 91-69

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Posted Jul 13 2011 4:58PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) The New York Liberty's fast start was too much for the Atlanta Dream to overcome.

Nicole Powell scored 20 points and the Liberty beat the Dream 91-69 on Wednesday for their fourth straight win and sixth in seven games.

``From the moment the ball tipped off we could feel the energy,'' New York's Cappie Pondexter said. ``We didn't come out lax. We came out with a lot of energy. That was the difference.''

The Liberty (8-5) took control with a tiebreaking 11-0 run in the first quarter. They increased the lead to 17 by halftime and then 25 in the third quarter.

Kia Vaughn had 14 points, Leilani Mitchell scored 12 and Plenette Pierson 11 for New York. Pondexter and Quanitra Hollingsworth each added 10 points.

Powell, who also had seven rebounds, shot 7 for 8 from the field, including 5 for 5 on 3-pointers.

``Nicole, the last three games has been exceptional,'' Pondexter said. ``I think her energy on both ends of the court has made us a better team without question. She's bringing it now ... she's playing out of her mind like the Nicole that we've seen in the past.''

Angel McCoughtry scored 17 points, Coco Miller had 15 and Armintie Price added 12 for defending Eastern Conference champion Atlanta (3-9), which has lost six of eight.

``I thought the Liberty came out and shot the ball extremely well and I think it kind of put us back on our heels a little bit,'' Dream coach Marynell Meadors said. ``I hope we can get back on the winning track. We struggled, we didn't play well at all today and we didn't defend well. Those are the things we have to have. ... We have to come out with more intensity and more effort.''

The Liberty scored six consecutive points, capped by Pondexter's fast-break layup, to take a 64-43 lead with 5:42 left in the third. Another 6-0 run, topped by a free throw from Hollingsworth 4:11 later, made it 75-50 - New York's biggest advantage of the game.

Trailing by 24 after three quarters, the Dream cut the deficit in half with a 12-0 run to pull to 77-65 on Price's free throws with 4:15 remaining in the game. Vaughn's free throws 15 seconds later ended the Liberty's scoring drought.

Powell's jumper with 2:49 to go in the game was New York's first field goal since Mitchell's 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining in the third. The Liberty missed 14 consecutive field-goal attempts in between, including their first 13 of the fourth when Liberty coach John Whisenant tried to get his starters some extra rest.

``I was trying to let our young players get some experience but they couldn't quite finish it off without the vets,'' he said.

Pierson left midway through the third quarter with an injured left knee and did not return. She fell after battling for an offensive rebound and was facedown for several minutes. She was helped off the court and to the locker room by trainers. After the game, Pierson said her knee had a ``little sprain'' with some swelling and soreness.

New York led 54-37 at the break, its highest scoring first half of the season and the franchise record at home. The Liberty, who shot 57 percent (21 for 37) in the first 20 minutes, finished at 46 percent and evened the season series with the Dream at 2-2, with one matchup remaining at Atlanta on Aug. 2.

New York's frontcourt of Vaughn, Powell, Pierson and Hollingsworth outscored Atlanta's Erika de Souza, McCoughtry, Alison Bales and Courtney Paris 55-29.

``Our intensity level and defense just stepped it up and got them frustrated and got in their heads and made things a little bit easier for us,'' Pierson said. ``Our post players played great post defense.''

After New York led by 14 early in the second quarter, Atlanta cut the deficit to six with 7 1/2 minutes to go in the period. But Pondexter followed with a layup, Powell hit a 3 and Mitchell had a layup to push New York's lead back to 13 about 1 1/2 minutes later. Powell's 3 with under 2 minutes to go in the second quarter extended the Liberty's advantage to 49-32.

• Dream: --
• Liberty: --

• Dream: Miller, Williams
• Liberty: Powell, Vaughn

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #13 Cameron Inouye, #9 Denise Brooks, #25 Marcus Clayton
• Attendance: 14314
• Duration: 2:05