With 6:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, guard Iziane Castro Marque hit a three-pointer to give the Atlanta Dream (11-4) a 72-69 lead, their first lead of the game. The Dream would go on to hold the lead and win their third straight home game defeating the Los Angeles Sparks (3-10) by a score of 89-81. L.A. controlled a 16-point lead at one point during a sluggish and problematic first half. The Dream trailed L.A. 49-38 at halftime.
"They did exactly what they wanted to do in the first half," said head coach Marynell Meadors, "We allowed that to happen, so we cant let that happen anymore, we have to play better defense."
The Dream responded in typical fashion starting the third quarter on an 11-4, hitting their first five shots in a row. The key moment in the contest came when Armintie Price stole the ball away Sparks’ guard Ticha Penicheiro and converted a lay-up to tie the game at 69-69. Price had previously missed an easily lay-up that would have tied the game earlier.
"She’s a very determined young lady, she does not like to miss lay-ups," head coach Meadors spoke about Price’s play, "I just knew she was going to make something happen down on the other end, and she did."
The play started a 13-0 run giving the Dream a comfortable 80-69 lead with little over four minutes left in the game; the Dream would hold on for another hard fought home victory. The win kept the Dream in first place in the Eastern Conference and a 5-1 record at home.
Not surprisingly, Atlanta responded to poor play in the first half by cutting an 11 point deficit to one in the third quarter. The Dream have an unique ability to create second half runs leading to much needed wins in their 11-4 record. Today, the Dream created a 13-0 run ending in another win for Atlanta. A few weeks ago, Atlanta needed a second half run to defeat the Washington Mystics in overtime. Against San Antonio, a third quarter run led to much needed rebound victory for the Dream.
"We’ve had really good first quarters, our second quarter has not been so good most of the time," said head coach Meadors about her team’s second half performances, "Then, we come back in the third quarter and it’s a little bit so-so, and about mid-way through the third, we just hit some jets or something and we start playing."
There is no doubt that Atlanta second halves are partly responsible for the 11-4 start and first place position in the Eastern Conference. When asked what really sparks the second half runs for Atlanta, guard Iziane Castro Marque explained that there is a desire to never settle for the way they are played in the first half.
"I think it is just knowing that we can do better than what we did," said Castro Marque, "when we see that we’re not playing as good as we can be, we can defiantly change things around."
Bench play was key for Atlanta today with Armintie Price scoring eight points and Yelena Leuchanka tying her season high with eight points.
"We have to be ready at all times," said Price, "today was a big game for us and we had to step up, and I think we did."
Castro Marque was 4-6 behind the arc and finished with a team-high 25 points. Sancho Lyttle recorded her eighth double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Dream are 2-0 in their current six-game homestand and have a busy week ahead of them with games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Atlanta plays the defending champion Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday at 7 pm. Atlanta won the last meeting against the Mercury by a score of 96-93.
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