Dream-Mercury Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Aug 10 2011 5:11PM

The surging Atlanta Dream aren't performing like the team the Phoenix Mercury saw less than two months ago.

Lately, Phoenix hasn't been playing to the level it's accustomed to either.

The Dream try to post their third straight victory and even their record for the first time this season when they host the Mercury on Thursday night.

After a slow start due to injuries, the Dream are a game below .500 for the second time in a little more than a week.

Atlanta (10-11) has played outstanding over the last few weeks, winning seven of nine to move back into the playoff race. The Dream, who are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, are coming off a 72-70 victory in Washington on Tuesday.

Sancho Lyttle, one of the players that has struggled to stay in the lineup, hit a 13-footer with less than a second remaining to cap an 11-3 run by Atlanta to end the game.

"I remember sitting next to (Lyttle) on the bench, with under a minute, saying 'if you're open, you take your shot,'" point guard Lindsey Harding said. "She took it. She was comfortable, confident, and it went in."

Lyttle started for the second straight game after missing the start of the season while playing overseas and then another six games while dealing with a back injury. She finished with eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Angel McCoughtry has been in the starting lineup the last two as well after coming off the bench the previous two, once due to an illness. She had 19 points and four steals Tuesday.

McCoughtry is second in the league with 19.8 points per game behind the Mercury's Diana Taurasi, who averages 20.9.

McCoughtry had a game-high 24 points against Phoenix (12-9) on June 24, but Atlanta lost 92-83 as its depleted lineup struggled to keep up with the deep Mercury, who had four players score in double figures.

Phoenix, which is tied for second place in the West, won for the second time in seven games after defeating Minnesota 85-80 on Tuesday. Taurasi scored 26 points and had a key steal in the final 20 seconds.

"We usually like to fight (defensively)," Taurasi said. "We have to get that fighting spirit back and I think tonight we gained that back."

It was one of the Mercury's better defensive efforts in a while. Phoenix is the league's highest-scoring team at 90.6 points per game but also is the worst defensively, giving up an average of 87.3. The Mercury have been particularly lax on defense recently, allowing an average of 91.6 points in their last seven games.

Bonner leads Mercury in 109-95 win over Dream

Posted Aug 12 2011 1:54AM

PHOENIX (AP) DeWanna Bonner had a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds to help the Phoenix Mercury hold off the Atlanta Dream 109-95 on Thursday night.

``She's really coming into her own,'' Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. ``She's a great player, I always knew that even when I first saw her. She's getting better and better.''

Candice Dupree had 22 points and Diana Taurasi scored 21 to help Phoenix (13-9) win its second straight after losing five of six. Dupree also had six rebounds and Taurasi added five assists.

``We have great scorers,'' Bonner said. ``Anybody on our team can go off on any given night. To have those numbers that's great. The pressure isn't on one person.''

Angel McCoughtry, second in the WNBA in scoring behind Taurasi, had 25 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead Atlanta (10-12), which lost for just the third time in 10 games.

``I thought we really fought hard,'' Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors said. ``Phoenix is playing well right now and they have a lot of offensive weapons.''

Phoenix scored six consecutive points to pull away midway through the final period after Atlanta got to 90-84 with 6:46 left. The Dream had trailed by 21 in the first half and 14 in the third quarter.

Erika DeSouza had 17 points and six rebounds for the Dream, which has split the first two games in a stretch of seven of eight road games over 18 days.

Penny Taylor had 19 points and six assists for the Mercury, which had 21 fastbreak points and outrebounded taller Atlanta 40-35.

Dupree scored 12 points, all in the first 6 minutes to help Phoenix grab a 30-20 lead after the first quarter.

Bonner scored 11 points in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second quarter as Phoenix opened up a 50-29 lead. However, McCoughtry had a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to key a 17-5 run late in the half as Atlanta pulled to 59-48 at the break.

Taylor scored nine of her points in the third quarter but DeSouza had nine as well for Atlanta to keep the Dream within 87-76 going into the final period.

• Dream: --
• Mercury: --

• Dream: --
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #38 Lamont Simpson, #24 Tony Dawkins, #62 Jeff Wooten
• Attendance: 7940
• Duration: 1:56