Storm-Dream Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Sep 10 2012 6:02PM

The Seattle Storm set a league record by clinching their ninth consecutive postseason berth over the weekend.

While the Atlanta Dream have a chance to secure a playoff spot Tuesday night, they won't be content to just get in.

The Storm try to avoid a second straight two-game season sweep at the hands of the Dream when the teams meet at Philips Arena.

After completing a home-and-home sweep of Tulsa with Saturday's 89-66 road win, Seattle (13-14) earned a playoff berth the next day thanks to Indiana's 89-83 victory over Phoenix.

Though the Storm's sub-.500 record leaves much to be desired, they're starting to hit their stride. Seattle has won three of four, with the victories coming by an average of 22.6 points.

Camille Little had a season-high 28 points and nine rebounds Saturday while three-time league MVP Lauren Jackson, playing in her fifth game since joining the Storm following the London Olympics, posted 10 points and eight boards in 16 minutes.

"We're passing the ball really well right now. Basically, we started over," Little said. "Lauren wasn't here in the beginning and we had several injuries that made us start over. This is a great time to get comfortable.

"It's nice to have everybody back. It's certainly better than when you only have two or three (scorers)."

The Dream (16-14) have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win in this game and a Chicago loss to league-leading Minnesota on Tuesday.

Atlanta blew a 25-point lead during Friday's 97-93 double-overtime loss to the Lynx but bounced back Sunday, beating league-worst Washington 93-68. Lindsey Harding and Armintie Price each scored 15 points for the Dream, who took a 48-27 lead into halftime and never looked back.

"We're at our best when we share the ball," Harding said. "We didn't play badly at Minnesota. We played well. We wanted to keep that same level of play and the same intensity."

Two-time reigning Eastern Conference champion Atlanta was swept by Seattle in the 2010 WNBA finals before suffering the same fate against Minnesota last season. The Dream, though, have their sights set on winning it all this year.

"We're trying to win a championship," Price said. "We know that we have to learn from every game and keep getting better. We want to get off to good start in every game and that's what we were able to do."

Leading the league with 21.6 points per game, Angel McCoughtry scored 30 against Minnesota but was held to eight on 4-of-10 shooting Sunday.

McCoughtry has come off the bench in the last five games in which she's played. She missed four games late last month, two for personal reasons and two due to suspension for violating team rules.

McCoughtry was also unavailable during a 70-59 win at Seattle on July 11 due to a sprained MCL.

McCoughtry, DeSouza lead Dream past Storm, 77-61

Posted Sep 11 2012 10:58PM

ATLANTA (AP) Just like they did the past two seasons, the Atlanta Dream are playing their best basketball at just the right time.

Angel McCoughtry scored 23 points, Erika DeSouza had 20 and the Dream pulled away late to beat the Seattle Storm 77-61 for their fifth win in six games Tuesday night.

``We're finally meshing,'' Armintie Price said. ``It's late in the season to do it. But the best time to do it.''

Sancho Lyttle scored 13 points and Price had 10 for the Dream (17-14), who are firmly in third place in the Eastern Conference but haven't officially clinched a playoff berth yet.

``The team shared the basketball again,'' coach Fred Williams said. ``It's starting to come for us. We want to play that kind of basketball and play well.''

Seattle pulled to 55-54 on a 3-pointer by Sue Bird early in the fourth quarter. However, Atlanta went on a 13-0 run to regain control and finished with a 22-7 spurt.

The Dream were swept by the Storm in three games in the WNBA Finals in 2010, but have won the four regular-season meetings since.

``We've got to be physically and mentally tougher if we're going to be in a situation to win a championship,'' said Seattle coach Brian Angler, who wasn't happy with the Storm's 21 turnovers. ``We gave it to them 16 times (on steals) and they are going to go down there and shoot layups.''

Lauren Jackson had 14 points and nine rebounds and Camille Little added 13 points and eight boards for the Storm (13-15), who have already secured their WNBA-record ninth consecutive playoff berth.

Trailing by 16 points early in the second half, Seattle went on a 19-6 run to pull to 49-46 on a three-point play by Jackson with 2:13 left in the third quarter. The Storm trailed 53-49 going into the final period as Jackson had 10 points in the period and Little scored nine.

``We had an opportunity,'' Angler said. ``We worked ourselves back in the game in the third quarter.''

But a missed layup prevented the Storm from taking the lead and the Dream went on their 13-point run, with all five players scoring.

``We're trying to get our chemistry going,'' Lyttle said. ``Hopefully this will take us over to the playoffs.''

McCoughtry, who didn't attempt a shot in the first quarter, was 6 for 6 from the floor and had 14 points in the second quarter as Atlanta took a 37-25 halftime lead.

The WNBA's leading scorer has been coming off the bench since missing two games for personal reasons and then serving a two-game team suspension.

``That's what I did in the Olympics,'' the member of the gold-medal United States team. ``It doesn't matter.''

McCoughtry scored all but two points during a 16-6 run that gave the Dream a 37-21 lead late in the quarter. DeSouza had eight of her 10 first-half points in the first quarter.

Atlanta had 20 assists on 29 baskets and scored 21 points on the fast break. Lindsey Harding and Tiffany Hayes each handed out five assists.

``We've been up and down, but we're on a real high note now,'' Hayes said.

• Storm: --
• Dream: --

• Storm: --
• Dream: McCoughtry

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #44 Felicia Grinter, #21 Byron Jarrett
• Attendance: 5558
• Duration: 1:56