WNBA Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream 91, Los Angeles 74

Published on July 17, 2016 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Atlanta Dream News Release


Score High Points High Rebounds High Assists Atlanta (12-11) 91 Clarendon/McCoughtry (17) Williams (12) Clarendon (6) Los Angeles (20-2) 74 Ogwumike (26) Ogwumike (12) Parker (5)

ATLANTA DREAM NOTES

- The Atlanta Dream played without the services Sancho Lyttle who suffered a break in the fifth metatarsal in her right foot at Indiana on Friday night (7/15). Lyttle is expected to miss the remainder of the 2016 regular season.

- The Dream held a 43-40 halftime advantage despite Angel McCoughtry picking up three personal fouls and a technical foul in a 53-second span in the first quarter and being forced to the bench for the final 13:10 of the first half.

- Markeisha Gatling notched a season-high nine points this afternoon against the Sparks.

- Atlanta moves to 7-4 at home this season and has won its last three games on its home floor.

- The Dream have won the last seven meetings against Los Angeles that were played in Atlanta with the last home loss for the Dream in the series with the Sparks coming back on August, 23, 2009 (83-72).

- Elizabeth Williams tallied 12 rebounds - her fifth double-digit rebounding performance this season.

- Atlanta moves to 11-3 this season when it connects on more free throws that its opponent following Sunday's victory.

LOS ANGELES SPARKS

- With Sunday's 91-74 loss, Los Angeles now sits at 20-2 to open the season. The Sparks came up one game short of surpassing the 1998 Houston Comets for the best record to open a WNBA season. Both opened with 20-1 over the first 21 games before suffering their second loss of the season.

- The Sparks played without the service of Ana Dabovic who is currently competing with the Serbian Olympic Team.

- Los Angeles trailed at halftime 43-40 for the second straight game marking only the sixth time this season the Sparks have trailed following the opening 20 minutes.

- Nneka Ogwumike tallied her 11th double-double of the season with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

- Kristi Tolliver extended her streak with a least one 3-point field goal to 22 consecutive games.

- The loss snaps a nine-game winning streak for Los Angeles. Sunday's loss at Atlanta also marked the Sparks' first road loss this season after opening 9-0 away from Staples Center.

Atlanta Dream vs. Los Angeles Sparks Postgame Quotes

July 17, 2016 - 3 p.m. at Philips Arena - Atlanta

Atlanta Dream Head Coach Michael Cooper

Opening statement...

"The last road trip we had was very difficult, but the two things that we did not do very well was rebounding the basketball and continuing to play at a high intensity level. Those were two things that we've talked about with the team after the lost at Indiana. If you do those two things well, we put ourselves in a position to win. That's what we were able to do today. We kept reinforcing throughout the game that Los Angeles was going to come at us hard but we were able to keep our spirits high."

On controlling turnovers...

"When I was talking to my assistant coaches, we usually win games when we have plus on the assists and minus on the turnovers. Every game you go back and look at those numbers we usually win those games. Turnovers are a part of the game but it is important that you just don't throw the ball away and continue to play good defense. You have to take pride in that possession and go down and get a good shot, if not a score. It's always important for us to go out and do that."

Angel McCoughtry

On the secret to tonight's success...

"Hard. Work. We just wanted it. I told the team that this could be the one that could turn the season around for us and it proved that we can beat anyone in this league. I hope that the girls take this and build their confidence and together we can move forward and contend in this league and do some damage."

Layshia Clarendon

On changes from the last meeting...

"I think we were just really focused and our energy was there. We kinda had that feeling in the warmup that everyone was locked in and ready to battle. They are definitely an easy team to get up for because they're the best team, but I also think we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder because they were trying to set a record on us tonight and we didn't want to be the team that was on the wrong-side of history and the one who lets them get the game."

Los Angeles Sparks Head Coach Brian Agler

On turnovers and Atlanta's defense...

They are a team that thrives on turning you over and getting second shots and getting to the free throw line. If you let them play their game they'll play well.

On moving forward...

We got to be hungry. Everybody in the league still has a chance to make the playoffs, and everybody is looking at the schedule the same way we are with 12 games left. Everybody we play from here on out will be very hungry for that success, but we still have something to play for ourselves. So it'll be up to us to match the other team's intensity.

Nneka Ogwumike On today's game plan... "Coming into this game, we knew that they were going to be physical. We really wanted to crank up our defense because it has been slacking the last couple games except we were a step slow on defense today."

On ending nine-game winning streak... "I'm more disappointed in our performance. Even if we had lost and played better, it would have been a little easier to swallow. We just didn't play like ourselves. We are a veteran team. We are mature about it. We are just ready to get on the plane and move on to the next game in Indiana."

On Atlanta's defense... "Honestly, we were out of system because of how we were performing. They are a great team but we have control over how we execute. We allowed them to their game and usually we are able to make adjust."

On physicality of game... "You kind of expect that from them [Atlanta Dream]. They are a very physical game. Often times we had trouble matching their wow moves but you have to stand your ground. You have to understand that they are going to come at you. I think it's very important that we understand that."

Candace Parker On overall performance of today's game... "You start off the season undefeated and you want to remain the best but we didn't play our best today. Today we had some careless turnovers and fouls. We are going to go back to strategy and get better."

On defense allowing Dream to score over 90 points... "Fouling allowed it. I think that's the key. They put their heads down and went to the basket on us. We've known that the past couple of games that we have to be better at the point of attack but we obviously didn't change how we defend the point of attack. The way we need to defend the point of attack is be aggressive and active.

On being the only player ranked in the top 10 in scoring, rebounds and assists... "At this point of my career, I just want to win. So whatever I have to do, whether I have to score, whether I have to pass or rebound I do it. I don't care who gets the credit, I just want to bring a championship to LA. That's kind of our long-term focus and I think that everyone has that same mentality on the team." m."

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