Former Louisville All-American Angel McCoughtry led all-scorers with 20 points as Atlanta threw a significant wrench into the playoff hopes of Connecticut, as 7,003 shell-shocked fans watched the Dream hand the Sun their worst loss ever, 94-62, on Friday night.
Iziane Castro Marques scored 17 points and Erika DeSouza, the Brazilian star who played for the Sun in 2007 but was selected by Atlanta in the 2008 expansion draft, chipped in with a double-double—13 points and 13 rebounds. Coco Miller contributed 12 points off the Atlanta bench.
Asjha Jones scored in double digits for the third straight game and for the third time in her last four outings to lead the Sun in scoring with 16 points. DeMya Walker and Sandrine Gruda contributed 13 and 12 points respectively off the Connecticut bench. Tina Charles, who started the season as a double-double machine, notching 15 double-dubs in her first 20 professional outings, missed the mark for the fourth straight time, scoring just six points. Charles, the WNBA’s top rebounder, did grab a team-high 12 boards, however.
The Dream led 26-17 after the first quarter, but the Sun remained within striking distance, trailing by just four points, 40-36, with 2:40 to go in the second period.
Then the roof caved in—metaphorically speaking, of course.
The Dream scored the final 13 points of the first half to take a commanding 53-36 lead into the locker room at intermission. Then, Atlanta opened the second half with another 12-0 blitz. By the time Sandrine Gruda finally stopped the hemorrhaging for the Sun with a layup with 6:04 left in the third period, .Atlanta had opened up a 65-38 lead. Angel McCoughtry responded by throwing up a quick trey to bump the Dream advantage up to 20 points. By the time the smoke settled, Atlanta led 86-48 after three, rendering the final period as extended garbage time.
“I think it was just one of those nights,” said Atlanta head coach Marynell Meadors after the game. “You don’t beat a team like Connecticut like that. It never happens. It never happens in Connecticut, I can tell you that much.”
Connecticut, which entered the game as the top team in the league in turning the ball over the fewest times per contest, handed the ball to Atlanta 23 times in this contest, which the Dream turned into 27 points, thank you very much.
“It’s just when each person makes a few mistakes in a row, it compounds and you get a 17-point deficit,” explained Renee Montgomery, on the self-perpetuating turnover syndrome that generally afflicts all young teams, but hit this one right at the worst time imagineable. “That’s what keeps happening. It’s not like one person makes five mistakes in a row. One person makes a mistake, then another person and another. All the little things keep adding up and compounding.”
Atlanta also dominated the Sun in the paint with a 52-43 advantage on the boards, including 11 second-chance points in the first half.
“I can’t remember coaching a team like this in a long time,” noted a bemused head coach Mike Thibault after the game, who likened his team’s performance to a bug splattering all over a windshield. “They were good and we were equally as bad. They made the hard ones, we gave them easy ones. I don’t know how we can lead the league in fewest turnovers and give up 23. We did it every way possible. All I know is we don’t have much time to regroup.”
With the loss, the Sun fall to 13-11 and into a virtual tie for the fourth and final playoff spot with the New York Liberty, 88-79 winners over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday. However, if the regular season ended on Friday, New York would be awarded the playoff spot based on its 2-1 record in head-to-head games with the Sun.
The Sun have a chance to even the score on Sunday, when they travel to New York to take on the Liberty at 4 p.m. at Madison Square Garden. However, the Sun are just 4-7 on the road this season, including a dismal 1-7 road record vs. Eastern Conference foes away from home. The game will be televised on MSG Network.
Atlanta improves to 17-9, and is in a virtual first-place tie with defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana, although the fever hold a one-game advantage in the loss column.
Entering the final month of the regular season, five games separate first place from last place in the conference, with three games separating the top five teams—and only four playoff spots available.
“I don’t think it is anywhere close to being over,” said Meadors. “I think anybody right now can be in the top four teams in the East. That’s how close it is.”
SUN SPOTS
- The Sun, which started the season 8-1 at home, have now dropped three of their last four games at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
- Although she missed a double-double, Tina Charles’ 12 rebounds are the most she’s had since grabbing 15 boards vs. Atlanta on July 17. It was the 20th time she has led the team in rebounds.
- Kara Lawson led the Sun with five assists—the 11th time she has led the team in dishes this season.
- DeMya Walker’s 13 points represents her season-high mark.
- The Sun’s previous worst loss was by 29 points to Indiana (75-46) on May 27, 2008.
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How dominant is the Eastern Conference this season? Chicago, last place in the East with a 12-14 record, would be in second place in the West, percentage points ahead of the Phoenix Mercury.
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