Game Recap: Fever 74, Dream 98

by Kevin Messenger July 13, 2018

Tiffany Hayes paced the fast-paced Dream and seven double-figure scorers with 16 points. Elizabeth Williams tied a season-high with 14 points and Brittney Sykes also had 14. Jessica Breland, Angel McCoughtry, Damiris Dantas and former Indianapolis high school star Alex Bentley, acquired in a trade earlier in the week from Connecticut, each finished with 10.

Atlanta fell just shy of the century mark for a second straight game after scoring 106 in a win at Washington, Wednesday. Atlanta blitzed the Fever 30-7 in the second quarter and combined for 63 points between the second and third periods.

The Dream shot 57 percent overall and reaped the reward from a 41-27 rebounding edge.

Indiana fell for the third straight game and the 18th time in 21 tries this season as Atlanta clinched the season series between the clubs, 3-1. The Dream, 11-9, won its third straight game and their fourth in the last five.

“I was not pleased overall by our performance,” Indiana coach Pokey Chatman said flatly. “We can’t let our offense continue to dictate our defense. Even if we’re not scoring, we still need to play defense.”

Tiffany Mitchell came off the bench for the first time this season and matched a season high with 17 points to lead Indiana. Point guard Erica Wheeler finished with 15 points while making her first start since June 10. Wheeler had seven first-quarter points and helped Indiana to a 22-18 lead after 10 minutes as the Fever hit 10-of-20 shots in the period and led by as many as 10.

Momentum changed quickly, though, and the double-digit lead became a double-digit deficit.

“We scripted some shots in that first quarter and we got off to a good start,” added Chatman. “We played well and we got a lead. In the second quarter, we got some of the same shots, but they didn’t fall and then we started to break down defensively. That can’t happen.”

The Dream assumed control almost instantly in the second period while handing the Fever their largest halftime deficit of the season, 48-29. The Dream blistered the nets on 13-of-20 shooting in the quarter and Indiana suddenly went cold, shooting 2-of-14 overall and hitting just one of their final 12 shots from the floor. Atlanta got six points in the period from Breland and took advantage of a four-and-a-half minute scoreless stretch by the Fever, scoring 15 unanswered points to command a 20-point lead, 46-26. Mitchell’s 3-pointer in the final minute ended Indiana’s eight-minute drought without a field goal.

Atlanta pushed its lead to 28 in the third, following 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Sykes.

Indiana veterans Candice Dupree and Cappie Pondexter finished with nine and eight points, respectively. Dupree, 10th in WNBA history with 5,840 points, fell one point shy of catching Becky Hammon (5,841) in ninth place among league scoring leaders.

Indiana continues a stretch of seven games in 14 days when the Fever host Phoenix at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday (5:00 p.m.).