DREAM BLOG: Storm sweeps through Atlanta to complete Finals sweep

After being down 0-2 to the Seattle Storm, the Atlanta Dream returned to the friendly confines of Philips Arena where they hoped to extend the series. The Dream have been relatively close in both games in Seattle, only losing by two and three respectively. Head coach Marynell Meadors’ team was backed into a corner however, where the choices are winning and play another game on Sunday or lose and the series is over. Early on it looked as if this Seattle team would blow the Dream out in their own building by going on an early 9-0 run sparked by Tanisha Wright who ended the night with 13 points in a very balanced attack. Atlanta would finally get on the board with Iziane Castro-Marques almost three minutes in the game. After still not getting on track offensively for Atlanta, Seattle would push the lead to as much as 10, leading 16-6 with 4:49 left in the quarter. There were also some tense moments with the officials resulting in Atlanta drawing two technical fouls in the 1st Quarter alone. As ironic as it seems, the last technical would spark the Dream. Led by leading scorer Angel McCoughtry and Castro-Marques, Atlanta would cut the lead to by the end of the first, 28-24. McCoughtry had 11 in the quarter. Erika DeSouza would be huge rebounding for the Dream in the 2nd Quarter. A pass from DeSouza to Castro-Marques at the 9:26 mark would result in a 3-point basket and the lead being cut to one but costly turnovers pushed the lead back out to six for the Storm. Atlanta would not quit however. The lead would dwindle down to one on baskets by McCoughtry and a foul with 2:32 left in the half. McCoughtry would hit the free throw to make the score 39-38 and then a three by Kelly Miller would give Atlanta the lead for the first time in the game, 41-39. After Seattle’s Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird hit baskets returning the lead to Seattle, McCoughtry would hit a three to give Atlanta a 44-43 halftime lead. She would have 19 at the half. After exchanging leads during the beginning of the 3rd, McCoughtry would hit a jumper giving Atlanta a 53-51 lead. They would extend that lead to as much as six and it looked like the Dream would run away with the game but the veteran Seattle Storm led by Swin Cash who finished with 18 points would make the lead evaporate. Cash would hit two 3-pointers along with Bird hitting a three and the Dream would find themselves down seven points, 67-60 going into the final period. Seattle would extend the lead to 11 on free throws by Cash and Camille Little who lived at the charity strike all night. The lead for the Storm would get as big as 12 with 3:15 to go in the game but Atlanta still would not quit. Castro-Marques hit a three and McCoughtry hit a jump shot cutting the lead to six. McCoughtry later said that she felt the game slipping so she took it upon herself to do “something” about it. She certainly could have brought them closer but a missed free throw with 31.7 seconds left only cut the lead by one to 85-82. Castro-Marques hit a running layup with with 6.9 seconds left to cut the lead to one but after a foul by McCoughtry and Camille Little hit two free throws the lead was back up to three. The Dream had one more possession. McCoughtry who had 35 points on the night would take a three but it would miss long. Kelly Miller would rebound, pass to Coco Miller for another 3 point shot attempt but the iron was also unkind and time would run out on the season for the Dream. The final score was 87-84 as Seattle wins their 2nd WNBA Championship. The MVP for the series was Lauren Jackson who finished with 15 points on five of nine shooting and nine rebounds. Camille Little also finished with 15. Little was nine of 12 from the free throw line. For Atlana, Castro-Marques finished with 21 points, Coco Miller finished with 12, and Erika DeSouza finished with 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Visibly absent from scoring was Sancho Lyttle who averages 12.8 a game. Coach Marynell Meadors would say of her team, “We have grown up quite a bit this season.” “I can’t lose sight of where we’ve come in three years.” Angel McCoughtry said of her team, “I thought we played hard tonight.” “I thought we gave great effort.”