by Troy Jenkins

The Atlanta Dream went to the buzzer against the Washington Mystics and came away with a 94-91 victory Thursday evening at Philips Arena.

Here are a few notes from Thursday’s game

Late Game Heroics Lead to Dream Win 

• The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics battled in a fourth quarter that featured 10 lead changes and six ties. In the waning moments of the game, Dream guard Tiffany Hayes sank a left-handed floater to give Atlanta the lead with nine seconds left. After a few free throws, the Dream managed to get a defensive stop and win the game.
• The Dream saw four players reach double-digit points: Angel McCoughtry led all scorers with 31, Tiffany Hayes notched 21, Bria Holmes scored 16 and Elizabeth Williams chipped in 13.
• Sancho Lyttle did not dress due to a foot injury.
• With Thursday’s victory, the Dream avoid the season sweep against Washington and eliminate them from playoff contention. The Dream hold a 21-16 advantage in the lifetime series against the Mystics.
• Coach Cooper’s Take: “That’s what I love about the playoff format for this season. It makes every game important, it makes every game hard, and it was a good bounce back game coming off of a tough loss against San Antonio.”
• Dream Player’s Take: “Coach told us during the timeout that this was basically a playoff game because Washington was fighting for their lives. So for us, we came in with the same mentality. We have to go into the playoffs playing really sharp and really hard so we tried to do that”, said Williams following the win.
• Visitor’s Take: “We had the lead. Tiffany Hayes’ shot should never be allowed to happen. She got all the way to the front of the rim. Our help was too late. We just did a bad job of defending them for 50 percent of the game tonight. The other two times we beat them this year I thought we did superb defensively. Tonight I don’t think we were”, said Mystics Coach Mike Thibault after the game.

 

Three Key Stats From Sunday’s Loss 

• The Dream put up 94 points in Thursday’s victory against They’re now 8-0 when they score 90 or more points in a game.
• The Dream hit 51.5% of their field goals against Washington. Their record improves to 4-0 when shooting at least 50% from the field.
• The Dream controlled the paint by outrebounding Washington by a final tally of 39-31. Furthermore, the Dream scored 48 points in the paint. The Dream are now 12-6 when outrebounding their opponent.

 

McCoughtry Makes Impact in Return

• Dream Forward Angel McCoughtry made her return from a brief suspension and finished with a game-high 31 points. This marks her third game this season with 30 or more points.
• McCoughtry is averaging 24 points since returning from the Rio Olympics.
• McCoughtry has notched double-figure points in 18 of her last 27 games overall.

 

Hayes Scores 21 Points and Hits Clutch Shot 

• Dream Guard Tiffany Hayes finished the game with 21 points, but none were bigger than her go-ahead floater with nine seconds remaining in the game.
• Hayes has notched double-digit points in her last eight games in a row, and in 24 of 33 games this season.
• Hayes is averaging 16 points per game since the conclusion of the Olympic Break.

 

Holmes Impresses Once Again in Starting Lineup

• Dream Rookie Bria Holmes had another solid start with a 16-point performance in the victory over Washington.
• Holmes has scored double-digit points in nine of her 10 starts this season, and is averaging 14.3 points per game as a starter.

 

Player of the Game: Tiffany Hayes

Tiffany Hayes gets the nod as player of the game for her 21-point performance and her late game heroics. Hayes got off to a fast start with 14 first half points and two steals. In the second half, Hayes scored five points in the third quarter and only two points in the fourth. Those two points ended up being the points that gave the Dream a late lead, and the  points that were instrumental in ending the Mystics season.

 

Race for Fourth Seed

• The Dream’s record improves to 17-16 with this victory. As of the morning of September 16, the Dream are in sole possession of the fifth seed in the WNBA playoffs with one game to play.
• The Chicago Sky (17-15) are currently the fourth seed in the WNBA with two games left to play. The Dream trail them by half a game, and hold the tiebreaker advantage. The fourth seed will receive a first round bye and home court advantage in the second round.
• The Indiana Fever (16-16) are currently in the sixth spot with two games to play and trail the Dream by half a game. Indiana holds the tiebreaker advantage over the Dream.
• The Dream will need some help to secure the fourth seed. They will need to win their final game of the season. Next, they’ll need both the Sky and Fever to lose one of their final two games. If the Dream lose their last game, they’ll need the Sky and Fever to lose both of their final two games to clinch the fourth seed.

 

Up Next

The Dream will wrap up the 2016 regular season Saturday night with a visit to Minneapolis to play Maya Moore and the defending WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx.

The WNBA Playoffs begin September 21. Stay tuned to find out when the Dream will begin their pursuit of their first WNBA Championship in franchise history. The Dream will play all of their home playoff games at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech.