It looked like the Dream were going to crash to 1-18 just days after notching their first victory but after trailing 50-34 midway through the third quarter last Wednesday against the Minnesota Lynx, they stormed back to earn a shocking upset win.
“We were down 16 points and we looked at each other like, ‘Not again,’” said Jennifer Lacy. “And we just kept fighting and fighting and pushing and pushing and making plays and getting stops.”
With a new lineup inserted by Marynell Meadors that boasted 6-foot-7 Allison Bales and 6-foot-8 Katie Feenstra down low, the Dream turned the pressure on defensively and made a 15-4 run to end the quarter. Meanwhile, Betty Lennox caught fire and scored 11 points during the five-minute span.
Jennifer Lacy finally evened the score at 66-66 with 1:47 to go on a three-point-play. Then after Nicky Anosike missed a pair of free throws on the next possession, Kristin Haynie found Tamera Young out in transition for a breakaway layup to give the Dream their first lead of the game. Continued good defense carried them the rest of the way for a 73-67 win to advance their record to 2-17.
Haynie continued to provide an important spark off the bench with five assists and Bales finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. Lennox was the key with 24 points and seven rebounds.
“I’ve got to be aggressive and take shots with confidence,” she said. “I’ve got to continue to do that every game.”
ROAD WOES
The Dream were defeated at San Antonio on Friday in a game that went much differently. This time they were up big early after a great first half. Atlanta outscored their opponents 22-9 in the second quarter en route to a 47-34 halftime lead. The Silver Stars responded in the third quarter and pulled within 59-55 heading into the fourth. Lennox’s trey gave the Dream a 73-71 lead in a back-and-forth game with 3:29 to play, but Becky Hammon responded with a 3-pointer of her own to give the Silver Stars the lead. San Antonio led the rest of the way, winning 82-74.
The Dream fell behind early in Chicago on Sunday and couldn’t recover. Poor shooting resulted in a 21-6 deficit after one quarter, and the team trailed 44-17 at the half. The Dream ended up losing the game by 13, but the result was never in doubt in the 79-66 loss. Katie Feenstra provided a bright spot, scoring a career-high 21 points.
ON DECK
A difficult 10-day road trip comes to an end this week. The Dream are in Indiana on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. matinee, before playing back-to-back games against Sacramento and Phoenix. All three opponents are around .500, with only the Fever sitting in a playoff position at press time with a 10-9 record. The Dream will also get another look at Phoenix’s high-octane offense. Diana Taurasi and company scored 97 in Atlanta on July 1.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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