Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Dream, Lynx roll to wins

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-  DREAM, LYNX CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS

 When the Atlanta Dream are rolling like this, they don't need Angel McCoughtry to score big. If New York doesn't get a lot of points from its stars, the Liberty are in trouble.


McCoughtry scored 18 points in limited playing time, leading five Atlanta scorers in double digits as the Dream beat the Liberty 85-64 for their franchise record-tying sixth straight victory.
Tiffany Hayes finished with 16 points for Atlanta (9-3), which also won six straight in 2010 and last season. Rookie reserve guard Shoni Shimmel scored 14, Erika de Souza had 11 and Aneika Henry 10.


''It was a very well-played game for our team for the simple fact we stuck with our plan,'' Dream coach Michael Cooper said. ''We knew we had to affect Cappie (Pondexter) or Tina Charles. I felt we did a good on both of them.


Charles and Pondexter scored just six points each - well below their averages of 17.3 and 15.9, respectively, coming in - as New York was handed its most lopsided loss of the season.


Alex Montgomery had 11 points and veteran reserve forward DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 10 to lead the Liberty (3-10), who lost their fifth straight.


Dream forward Sancho Lyttle, who just missed hitting double digits with nine points, said Atlanta's
defense was the difference, especially inside on Charles.


Charles shot just 3 for 12, and Atlanta outscored New York 42-30 in the paint even though each team took about the same number of shots inside (New York 34, Atlanta 35).


''We're trying to make their top players not be their top players, and tonight it worked,'' Lyttle said after adding five rebounds and four steals. ''Cappie only had a few points, and the same with Tina.''
The Dream trailed 8-7 early before running past the Liberty on the way to a 21-5 edge in fast-break points. Atlanta led 70-53 entering the fourth quarter, and most starters were on the bench for the final seven or eight minutes.

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Playing with an injury that hurt with every step she took, Seimone Augustus scored 19 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Washington Mystics 75-65 Friday night.


''I gotta do what I gotta do,'' she said. ''Fifty percent of me is better than none of me on the court just to be able to be out there and help my team. It's tough, but I'm just excited to be out there.''


Augustus returned after missing Wednesday's loss in Phoenix due to left knee bursitis.


''It's not really the knee, it's below the knee,'' said Augustus, who estimated the pain level at an eight or nine. ''It's pretty painful.''


Maya Moore had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the defending champion Lynx (10-4) win for the second time in five games. Lindsay Whalen scored 12 points.


Kia Vaughn had 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Washington (5-8), which lost its third straight and sixth in seven. Kara Lawson added 14 points.


Showing no signs of caution, Augustus made a 3-pointer, then scored on a spin move for a bucket in the opening minutes.


''She's a leader,'' Moore said. ''She just sets the way and leads the way of how you carry yourself
when you play through pain. It fires me up and everybody else up.''
Eight points by Moore - including two 3-pointers - and six points by Augustus keyed a 26-7 run bridging the first and second quarters to give the Lynx a 35-18 lead.


Kara Lawson made two 3s and Bria Hartley scored four points as Washington countered with a 16-4 run to get within five points before Minnesota scored the final four points of the quarter for a 43-34 halftime lead.


Moore scored on a turnaround, Augustus hit a jumper and Moore made a driving layup to put the Lynx up 55-42 in the third quarter. A 3 by Moore and a jumper from Augustus put Minnesota up 65-51 early in the fourth.


''I'll take Seimone on a bad day any day of the week, twice on Sunday,'' Minnesota center Janel McCarville said.

Louisville's Asia Taylor played for about a minute in the win but had no points or rebounds.

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We're doing radio today. Yes, it's Saturday already!  I have no idea what we'll talk about...so it should be a very interesting show, indeed. The show begins at 11 a.m. EDT.  Link below:

www.crescenthillradio.com