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Postgame Notes - Stars at Atlanta - May 31

May 31, 2017 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
San Antonio Stars News Release


ATLANTA- Monique Currie and Dearica Hamby each reached double figures in scoring off the bench, but the Stars still fell to the Atlanta Dream 77-70 Wednesday morning.

Currie filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Hamby scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds, which tied Alex Montgomery for the team lead.

The Stars (0-6) jumped out to an early lead, outscoring the Dream 24-18 in the first quarter. San Antonio took a 39-36 lead into halftime, marking the fewest number of points the Stars have allowed in a first half all season.

The Stars' aggressiveness on defense racked up 10 steals, which ties their season high, and held the Dream below 40 percent shooting.

The Dream (4-1) were led in scoring by Tiffany Hayes, who scored 16 points. Forwards Bria Holmes and Sancho Lyttle scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Layshia Clarendon contributed 13 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

Erika de Souza made two layups in the opening minutes for the Stars' first four points of the game, and the 6-5 forward also notched a game-high three blocked shots.

For the second consecutive game, the Stars outshot their opponent. They also outrebounded them by a slim margin and matched them in team assists.

After back-to-back road games, San Antonio returns home to the AT&T Center Saturday to host the Connecticut Sun, who have started the season 1-5. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

- Heath Clary, SAStars.com

San Antonio Notes

* The Stars only allowed the Dream 36 points in the first two quarters, the fewest points they have allowed an opponent in a first half this season. San Antonio previously allowed 37 at New York on May 13.

* Dearica Hamby grabbed a season-high 13 points and 8 boards. She previously scored 4 points at Minnesota on May 28 and 3 rebounds twice this season.

* Erika de Souza blocked a season-high and game-high 3 shots. She previously blocked 2 shots vs. Dallas on May 25.

* San Antonio tied their season-high 10 steals. The Stars also had 10 steals vs. Dallas on May 25.

Atlanta Dream Notes

* Four players in double-figures (Tiffany Hayes 16, Bria Holmes 15, Sancho Lyttle 14, Layshia Clarendon 13)

* Dream registered 11 steals (Sancho Lyttle - 3)

* Tiffany Hayes with team-high 16 points

* Bria Holmes ties season-high with 15 points

POSTGAME QUOTES:

Stars Head Coach Vickie Johnson (On entering the second half) "Bring the intensity. The game is going to get tougher. Cooper is known for his defense so I knew it was going to be a little more difficult of us to get our shots. I knew they were going to try to take us out of our comfort zone and they did that."

(On what she told the team after the loss) "It's about staying focused for 40 minutes. The game is not three quarters, it's 40 minutes. In the fourth quarter, you can't have a mental lapse. You have to be sharp as a whole, as an individual and as a team. We have to put the ball on the block, set good screens, and coming off making shots. Most important thing is boxing out and rebounding. We had 21 turnovers, we can't win like that."

(On Kelsey Plum's transition from college to WNBA) "It's a transition for her and (Nia) Coffey. Every day is a learning process. They get along with their teammates very well and it's just a part of the process. It may take a year, half a summer, two years or three years. You never know. The transition is good but the process is even better."

Stars Guard Kayla McBride (On the team's second-half play) "It was more so the fourth quarter. We had too many turnovers, too many breakdowns. We let them get easy points and we couldn't make shots."

(On what Coach Johnson said at halftime) "We need to up our toughness, which I think we did. In the third quarter we hung tight, but the fourth quarter was not great."

(On moving forward to the next game) "We have to stay confident. I think we're still putting pieces together, but just to stay confident. Win on the home court."

Stars Guard Kelsey Plum (On adjustments that need to be made going forward) "I think that we're right there. It's tough because this league is really competitive. We haven't had a ton of time to gel like other teams have. We'll be able to go home, practice, and work on stuff."

(Transition from college to WNBA) "I think that getting hurt the first month wasn't ideal. Sitting out and trying to get my rhythm back. It's been a little difficult for me and the transition itself isn't easy. It's tough, but eventually I will find the rhythm. Find what the team needs and hopefully be able to help."

Dream Head Coach Michael Cooper (On the win) "We played against a team that was fighting real hard, trying not to stay undefeated. In those types of games, it's not necessarily about what you do but who you are."

(On the second half improvements) "We had to just make the game easy for ourselves. We played team basketball. We had 18 assists and were able to get back into the game."

(On Guard Layshia Clarendon) "Layshia's our leader, our coach on the floor, an extension of myself, so she kept us calm and kept us in things."

(On team basketball) "When we play team basketball, we're hard to beat."

Dream Forward Bria Holmes (On the slow start) "We came in a little sluggish. We could have come in with more energy, but we picked it up at the half and came out with a win."

(On being player of the game) "I felt like I was a little slow at the beginning, like all of us were, but was just doing whatever I needed to do to help my team."

Dream Forward Sancho Lyttle (On the slow start) "We came out a little lackluster at the beginning, and we had to pick it up. They have good shooters and good spacers, so we were a little too spread out at first until we figured out where we were supposed to be then the game was different."

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