Its been a distraction filled week for the Atlanta Dream and perhaps all of that caught up with them in an 84-80 loss to the Tulsa Shock. In addition to Tuesday night being the debut of new head coach and general manager, it was reported just before tip off that All-Star forward Angel McCoughtry had been suspended by the team indefinitely.
Despite that news, Atlanta got off to a great start in the game and led 47-30 at one point in the second quarter. The Shock closed the half on a run and cut the deficit to just 51-44 at the half. Atlanta's offense was stymied by Tulsa's zone defense for much of the second half as they played right into the Shock's hands by settling for long contested three point attempts.
The Dream was outscored 23-11 in the third quarter but rallied again in the fourth. Cathrine Kraayevel's three-pointer with 12.6 remaining cut the lead to 81-80 but a late turnover by Sancho Lyttle ended the threat. Atlanta hit just 6 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc.
Six different Atlanta Dream players scored in double figures led by Erika de Souza's 16. Sancho Lyttle added 14 while Armintie Price chipped in 13. Kraayeveld came off the bench to score 11 while Lindsey Harding and Tiffany Hayes finished with 10 each.
Roneeka Hodges led all scorers with 20 points while Temeka Johnson added 17. The win was Tulsa's fifth of the season and their first on the road.
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