Atlanta has won three straight away from home at the season’s quarter point.
By: Mason Williams
INDIANAPOLIS – Coming into Sunday’s contest the winners of their last two outings, head coach Tanisha Wright had already learned a lot about her squad on a victorious start to their road trip.
Having snapped a 7-game losing streak to the Connecticut Sun directly on the heels of a victory over the New York Liberty, Wright knew her team had heart and a willingness to not give up. Fending off slight deficits in each outcome, victory on the road is something her team wouldn’t take for granted.
“To be able to steal wins on the road is not an easy task,” Wright said before the Father’s Day meeting between her Dream and the Indiana Fever.
Powered by the confidence of their two previous victories and their highest-scoring – and most efficient – output of the season, the Dream didn’t need to steal a victory inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Staving off a late charge, Atlanta downed Indiana, 100-94.
“I’m happy with the way our offense is unfolding,” Wright said after the win. “I think us being able to find the right shots and balls into the right people’s hands, I think that’s great.”
Atlanta shot 56.7 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from the three point line, a season-high in each category. It was just the third time all season the Fever had allowed an opponent to convert at better than a 50-percent clip.
Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard led the way with 25 and 21 points respectively. Howard was the catalyst of an offensive blitz to open the second half that saw her score eight quick points and open the half on a 15-6 run.
“My shot was just falling,” Howard said. “I knew that (Indiana) is a good third quarter team, and so I knew we had to come out and punch first. So that’s what I did.”
Cheyenne Parker and Nia Coffey also poured in double-digit performances, including nine crucial points from Coffey in the closing stretch of the game.
“We were going on a run, getting open shots and just making sure we were being smart with our decisions,” Coffey said of the fourth quarter run.
Near the final buzzer, Wright called a timeout after Indiana had cut a double-digit lead to seven. Hoping to compose her team, her message was simple: finish.
“You want to play your best basketball,” Wright said. “When you get in these situations, it doesn’t matter if it’s the Fever, New York, Connecticut, whoever it is – you want to finish the game the right way.
“It was just continuing to play the way we need to play and finish the game the right way.”
Now .500 on the year, Atlanta are winners of three straight and sit at 5-5. The Dream will travel to Dallas for a Tuesday night matchup with the Wings in the fourth and final leg of the current road trip, hoping for a perfect finish to sweep the stretch of play.