Dream-Fever Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Aug 26 2011 2:21PM

The Atlanta Dream created some breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a key win their last time out.

Atlanta's path to the postseason, however, could prove treacherous with three of its remaining seven games coming against the East-leading Indiana Fever.

Two of those come in a vital home-and-home series that begins Saturday night when the Dream visit Conseco Fieldhouse.

Angel McCoughtry put Atlanta (14-13) up for good on a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining Tuesday as the Dream defeated Chicago 83-80. The victory created further separation between themselves and the fifth-place Sky for the final playoff spot in the conference.

"This game was definitely huge. But we know that every single one is important," coach Marynell Meadors said. "The opportunity is there we just need to secure our position."

Atlanta could find itself in the postseason for a third consecutive year if McCoughtry, who ranks among the league leaders with an average of 20.5 points, continues to excel. The All-Star forward scored 22 on Tuesday and will be looking for a season-best fifth consecutive 20-point effort.

"Everybody says all of the attention is on me but it's really about teammates. They get me open and get rebounds," McCoughtry said. "I need to lead my team and keep my composure. I'm an emotional player but I want to show all of my toughness and help build my team up through adversity. That's what I really want to do."

McCoughtry's teammates stepped up during an 84-74 win over Indiana (19-8) on July 19. Lindsey Harding scored 19 and Erika de Souza had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to pick up McCoughtry, who was held to 15 points and shot 5 of 14.

The Dream, however, will likely need McCoughtry at her best Saturday, as the home team has won the last nine games in this series. Indiana is 12-2 at Conseco and has won five straight there by an average of 21.0 points.

Tamika Catchings scored 13 points and Katie Douglas snapped out of her recent funk with 15 as the Fever defeated Washington 83-51 on Sunday. Douglas had averaged 6.0 points over her previous three games - 6.8 less than her season mark.

"You're just going to have up and down moments and thankfully I was able to get on track tonight," said Douglas, who also struggled against Atlanta last month, scoring four points and going 1 of 8 from the field.

"I was just happy we were able to have such a big win and I think we were doing some great things on the defensive end and on the offensive end. When we start playing well on both ends of the floor, we're a hard team to beat."

Indiana, holding opponents to a conference-best 71.3 points per game, is battling Minnesota for the top overall seed in the playoffs.

The Fever and Dream conclude their home-and-home set Tuesday night at Philips Arena. The teams close out the season Sept. 11 with a matchup at Indiana.

McCoughtry, Harding lead Dream past Fever, 86-80

Posted Aug 27 2011 10:36PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Atlanta Dream hope to get a lift from a win against their possible opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

Angel McCoughtry scored 20 points and Lindsey Harding added 17 to lead the Dream to an 86-80 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday night. Erika DeSouza had 14 points and six rebounds and Iziane Castro Marques scored 11 points to help fourth-place Atlanta (15-13) moved one game behind New York in the Eastern Conference.

``It was really a hard fought game,'' Dream coach Marynell Meadors said. ``Both teams played aggressive and physical. It was a tuneup for the playoffs. Our young players grew up. I was pleased with our composure and poise.''

Harding and Castro Marques each scored nine points in the fourth quarter and combined to scored eight of the final 11 points for the defending East champions.

``We knew in the second half we had to dig down deep,'' McCoughtry said. ``We've had lots of game like this, so we are ready for the pressure and how to take care of the game when it's on the line.''

Harding, the only player to play all 40 minutes, scored the go ahead jumper with 37 seconds left to give Atlanta an 82-80 lead, then went 1 for 2 from the line.

``I feel really good and it was a great win for us,'' Harding said. ``We almost gave it away in the third quarter. We knew they were going to come out in a full court press, so we were ready for them.''

Tamika Catchings scored 22 points, Tangela Smith had 15 and Katie Douglas 14 for the Fever (19-9), who could have clinched their seventh straight playoff berth. Indiana's lead over second-place Connecticut was cut to one game.

The Fever went from being down 10 points at the start of the third quarter to tying the score late in the period and taking a lead to start the fourth.

``When you dig yourself into a hole that big against a great team like that, it's hard,'' Catchings said. ``It takes a lot of energy. Even besides that, we still had a chance to win.''

The Dream jumped to a 12-3 lead to start the game before Indiana pulled within three as Smith, Douglas and Catchings hit 3's for Indiana first nine points of the game.

Indiana shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half and trailed by 10 as Atlanta shot 53 percent.

``We dug ourselves into a hole in the first half,'' Fever coach Lin Dunn said. ``We played much better in the second. We matched their intensity in the second half. At the end of the day, Lindsey Harding was the difference.''

The Fever shot just 39 percent on the night and the Dream finished at 55 percent.

Indiana can clinch its postseason berth if Chicago loses against New York on Sunday or if the Fever win at Atlanta on Tuesday night.

• Dream: --
• Fever: --

• Dream: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #38 Lamont Simpson, #35 Billy Smith, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 9242
• Duration: 2:00