The Phoenix Mercury took on the Atlanta Dream in their second-season meeting. They previously met back in May, with the Mercury taking the win. Both teams came into the game undefeated post-Olympic break.
The Dream was without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who will miss the next few weeks due to an ankle injury, and Aerial Powers. The Mercury only had eight players available, with two out due to injury and one traded at the deadline.
Game Recap
The Dream got off to a 6-0 start before the Mercury scored four straight points to get on the board. But they only scored two more points in the first quarter, as their offense was all out of sorts.
Phoenix scored just two field goals and committed to five turnovers. They also ran into early foul trouble, with Sophie Cunningham picking up three fouls in the first quarter. On Atlanta's side, they closed the quarter on a 13-2 run to lead by 13.
After leading by as many as 14, the Mercury went on a 19-5 run to return and take their first lead. The Dream missed their first twelve shots in the second quarter and committed six turnovers.
Phoenix started quickly getting to the rim and feeding Brittney Griner the ball. She had six in the quarter, while Kahleah Copper had eight. They also started getting to the free-throw line and capitalizing on turnovers.
Despite Phoenix's big run, the Dream started to find their three-point shooting. The first three made field goals for the Dream came from the three-point line, with Allisha Gray hitting two of those three-pointers. They closed the first half on a 10-1 run to lead by eight.
Foul trouble plagued the Mercury, as Monique Billings picked up three fouls. They also went 0/6 from three in the first half. The defense was much better, but there was still no rhythm on the offensive end.
Copper went on a personal 5-0 run to begin the quarter. She scored the first nine points for the Mercury, but the Dream's three-point shooting allowed them to expand their lead again. They led by as many as nine, but Phoenix continued to cut into the lead.
Atlanta began the quarter on a 9-0 run, which expanded to a 21-4 run to go back up double digits. They led by 15, their largest lead of the game. Phoenix was out of it until the last four minutes of the game.
They made some shots to cut into the lead, but time was not on their side as the Dream got their third consecutive win. Both teams will meet again on Friday in Atlanta with a chance to go 2-1 in the season series.
Rebounding was the most significant factor in the game. Atlanta grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which allowed them to get second-chance opportunities. Phoenix only managed to grab three offensive rebounds.
Allisha Gray led the Dream with 21 points and Rhyne Howard with 19. Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 22 points and six rebounds. Brittney Griner finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Underappreciated Hero
The Dream won another, but the main storyline was about Tina Charles. She finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds and passed Tina Thompson to become the second all-time leading scorer in WNBA history.
Charles came into the game needing 10 points to move into second place. She scored five points in the first quarter, so it was safely assumed she would make history at some point in the first half. However, Phoenix's defense did not allow her to get into much of a rhythm throughout the game.
Charles was one point away from passing Tina Thompson in the fourth quarter. She would do it at the 9:40 mark on a three-point shot after the Dream got the ball back for another opportunity to retake the lead.
She received a standing ovation and was swarmed by her teammates for making history. Charles even shared a moment on the court with Diana Taurasi, the all-time leading scorer in the WNBA with 10,497 points. Tina Charles sits behind her with 7,491 points.
No comments:
Post a Comment