Defense, big shots leads Atlanta Dream to unlikely win over Minnesota Lynx

ATLANTA — Nineteen seconds remained in a one-point game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream after Jessica Breland swatted back Rebekkah Brunson’s 17-foot jumper.

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Atlanta center Elizabeth Williams corralled the ball and Dream coach Nikki Collen called a timeout. Everyone in McCamish Pavilion knew that the final shot was going to come from the hands of Angel McCoughtry or Tiffany Hayes. The duo wound up combining for 38 points.

McCoughtry cradled the ball near the top of the key and then drove towards the paint after Williams set a rock-hard screen on Maya Moore. McCoughtry got to the paint and saw Sylvia Fowles in front of her. McCoughtry could have elevated for a shot and hoped for a foul, but instead flipped the ball back to Hayes.

Then Hayes drove. Suddenly, three Lynx defenders closed in on her. This left McCoughtry wide open in the corner. Hayes tossed the ball back and McCoughtry swished a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to give the Dream their first lead of the second half, and ultimately, their first home win of the season.

Behind McCoughtry’s 18 points and Hayes’ 20 points, the Dream topped the defending champions 76-74 Tuesday night in Atlanta. The win broke a nine-game losing streak for the Dream against the Lynx.

“I don’t think anything like that is ever rehearsed. It’s just something that happens from hard work and practice. That’s just not rehearsed. That’s what makes it so great,” McCoughtry said. “You don’t think. I think if you think, then that’s how you mess up. You just got to let it fly and not think.”

It was McCoughtry’s first star-like moment of the season and her best game of the season since returning from a year-long WNBA hiatus. She played 24 minutes, shot 50 percent from the floor, grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots and tallied three steals.

Hayes continued her impressive scoring streak — she’s averaging 17.5 points per-game so far this season — but Collen was more impressed with her defense. Hayes was often tasked with guarding a four-time champ and five-time all-star, Moore.

In Moore’s return to her old stomping grounds — Moore went to high school in Gwinnett County, just east of Atlanta — she went 8-of-19 from the floor, didn’t attempt a free throw and turned the ball over three times in an 18-point outing.

“I cannot say enough about Tiffany Hayes’ defense. I know Angel guarded (Moore) some, but Tiffany took the assignment and she takes it seriously,” Collen said. “I coached (Alyssa) Thomas, who was all-defense last year, and Tiffany Hayes is just as good of a defender and has to guard tougher players because Maya probably has 30 pounds on her and three or four inches. (Hayes) was unbelievable in limiting (Moore’s) shots, let alone makes.”

Hayes peeled off the tape from her arms while taking questions from her reporters.

She’s listed on WNBA’s website at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. She fell to the floor and drew several fouls on Tuesday, but didn’t seemed to be bothered by bumps or bruises.

“I’m used to that,” Hayes said. “I keep going.”

Defense becoming Dream’s identity

Collen is a defensive coach and made it clear early on that she wanted this team to be great at disrupting the other side’s offense. Early on, it seems to be their calling card.

The Dream forced the Lynx into 17 turnovers, and also came away with 13 steals and five blocked shots.

Four games into the season, the Dream are first in the league in steals per-game (10.8), second in blocks (6) and second in forced turnovers (17). Atlanta has made its opponents have the league’s second worst offensive rating at 95.2.

What’s been Atlanta’s early secret to defensive success? Collen said she “over-scouts” but Hayes says that Collen comes up with “really good game-plan’s defensively.” Like in any other facet of the game, it’s been a team effort.

Atlanta isn’t going to out-rebound many teams and they certainly aren’t going to out-shoot teams from the three-point line. But if they can keep the game in the 70’s and keep wearing opponents out, then they’ll have a chance to win early games while their offense continues to mesh.

“When I took this job, I knew that this team wasn’t a great three-point shooting team,” Collen said. “We’ve tried to add shooting, but the reality is, we’ve got to go with what we’re good at, and you’re not going to take our athleticism away.”

Elizabeth Williams, the Dream’s underrated defender

After the game, McCoughtry admitted that Williams, at times, doesn’t get enough credit.

“To guard Liz Cambage and then Sylvia Fowles, and then Sunday she’ll have Brittney Griner, it’s not easy. They have a big height advantage on (Williams), but she still grinds it out, boxes them out, gets rebounds, does what she has to do,” McCoughtry said. “I think she’s a big asset to our team. I’m going to make sure I start personally thanking her for what she does, because it’s not easy to be down there and be banging.”

Williams led the Dream in minutes played Tuesday night with 33. She tallied eight points, seven rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and three steals. But much of what the 24-year-old center does doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.

On the Dream’s game-winning play, McCoughtry doesn’t have the space to make her initial drive to the lane if Williams doesn’t sneak over to set a stunning screen on Moore, an all-defense selection last season.

And then sometimes, her plays do show up on the stat sheet, like when she packed Moore’s shot in the second quarter.

Williams is also often tasked with guarding the best bigs in the league, and most of them are much taller than her. Williams is listed at 6-foot-3 and three days after trying to contain the 6-foot-8 Cambage, Fowles — the league’s reigning MVP — stepped into her world.

“I thought Elizabeth’s defense on Fowles was unbelievable. Especially when (Fowles is) allowed to travel on most of her post moves. It’s hard to guard her for eight seconds in the lane,” Collen said. “(Williams) fought over every screen. She knew when they were coming.”

Against Williams, Fowles finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting with four turnovers and a plus-minus rating of negative seven.

After the game, Williams quickly retreated to the trainer’s room for a cold tub session. Knees deep in for 15 minutes is what she needed to begin her preparation for the next game.

“Fowles is really hard to guard. She gets really good position in the paint, so I just try to disrupt that. I tried to help when I could, but not over-help,” Williams said. “You have to get to her early. She does her damage when she’s right under the basket, so I try my best to push her out, make her take the extra dribble so that somebody can come and help. Just make it a tougher shot.”

Atlanta hosts another tough team on Sunday in the Phoenix Mercury. But if the Dream lean on their defense, if Williams can continue to contain powerful 5’s, if McCoughtry and Hayes hit a few big shots — who knows? The Dream might win another game that they weren’t supposed to.